Pivislon  ^"1"  I  b  d. 

.<3  7 

na3 


Section 


— 


* 


n 


— 


= — 


STUDIES  IN 

NORTH  AFRICA 


J 


/ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/studiesinnorthaf00gran_1 


STUDIES  I 

NORTH  AF 


BY 

Jr 

CYRIL  FLETCHER  ’GRANT 


New  York 

E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  Fifth  Avenue 


Published  1928, 

By  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

All  rights  reserved 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Publishers’  Note 


This  book  formed  a  first  and  distinct  part  of  a 
two-part  volume  published  just  before  the  war 
and  entitled  Twixt  Smid  and  Sea.  It  was  both 
large  and  expensive.  In  accordance  with  frequent 
suggestions  the  first  part,  originally  entitled 
African  Shores  of  the  Mediterranean ,  is  now 
brought  out  by  itself  in  a  slightly  abridged  form, 
in  the  belief  that  it  will  supply  a  want,  and  also 
come  within  the  scope  of  a  larger  public. 


! 


i*' 


✓ 


- 


- - - - - - - - -  - - - - . 


Preface  to  First  Edition 


“A  land  of  sand  and  ruin  and  gold.”  Thus 
Swinburne  describes  North  Africa. 

Sand  indeed  there  is — sand  that  seems  to  stretch 
out  into  infinity;  ruins,  too,  the  ruins  of  three 
great  civilisations  which  have  passed  away;  gold 
also — though  of  no  material  wealth;  rather  it  is 
the  glory  of  the  golden  haze  over  the  desert,  and 
the  yellow  sand  gleaming  in  the  sunshine. 

The  writer  has  described  no  place  which  he  did 
not  visit  during  a  protracted  sojourn  in  North 
Africa. 

For  the  facts  which  lie  outside  the  range  of  such 
first-hand  evidence  he  has  consulted,  so  far  as 
possible,  the  original  authorities.  In  cases  where 
the  opinion  of  a  single  author  has  been  relied 
upon,  on  any  special  point,  a  reference  has  been 
given  in  the  text. 

In  addition  to  the  standard  books  of  reference, 
he  has  consulted,  especially,  the  following  works, 
and  desires  to  express  his  indebtedness  to  them : — 

The  Religion  of  the  Semites,  Robertson  Smith,  Chap,  i.-ii. 

The  Religion  of  Ancient  Egypt,  Wiedemann,  Chap.  ii. 

Les  Civilisations  de  I’Afrique  du  Nord,  Victor  Piquet,  Chap, 
xiv.-xvi. 

L’Afrique  Romaine,  Gaston  Boissier,  Chap,  vi.,  vii.,  viii. 

L’Algerie,  Maurice  Wahl,  Chap,  xiv.,  xvi. 

Les  Villes  d’Art  Celebres,  Rene  Cagnat  et  Henri  Saladin,  Chap, 
vi.,  xi.,  xiii. 

Les  Ruines  de  Carthage,  le  R.  P.  Delattre,  Chap.  xi. 

Thugga,  Dr.  Carton,  Chap.  ix. 

Carthage  Chretienne ,  Abel  Alcais,  Chap.  x. 

The  Scourge  of  Christendom,  Sir  Lambert  Playfair,  Chap.  xvi. 

The  Barbery  Corsairs,  S.  Lane  Poole,  Chap.  xvi. 

Alger  au  XV III.  Siecle,  Venture  de  Paradis,  Chap,  xvi.-xvii. 

Sketches  of  Algiers,  W.  Shaler,  Chap.  xvii. 

•  • 

Vll 


Contents 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  The  City  of  Elissar,  850-264  b.c.  .  1 

II.  The  Sword  and  tfie  Trident,  264- 

201  b.c . 17 

III,  The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  .  41 

IV.  The  March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  61 

V.  A  Frontier  Town  .  .  .83 

VI.  Country  Life  - .  .  „  .94 

VII.  Life  in  the  Town  .  .  .  114 

VIII.  A  Country  Town  .  .  .  148 

IX.  Lachrymje  Ecclesl®,  a.d.  150-391  .  156 

X.  Cadaver  Urbis  .  .  .  .173 

XL  Ees  Ultimo,  a.d.  423-550  .  .  185 

XII.  A  Byzantine  Fortress  .  .  .  212 

XIII.  Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  .  .  224 

XIV.  An  African  Mecca  .  .  .  252 

XV.  The  Crescent  and  the  Cross,  a.d. 

1453-1830.  .  .  .  .267 

XVI.  The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  .  .  289 


Illustrations 


Capitol,  Dougga 


Frontispiece 


FACING 

PAGE 

Old  Ports  of  Carthage  from  Byrsa  .  .  20 


Pretorium  at  Lambessa . 78 

Temple  of  Ccelestis,  Dougga  ....  82 

Arch  of  Trajan,  Timgad . 86 

Forum,  Timgad . 92 

Amphitheatre  Remains,  El  Djem  .  .  .134 

Theatre,  Dougga . 146 

Site  of  the  Rose  of  the  Winds,  Dougga  .  154 
Capitol  of  Sbeitla  .  .  .  .  .  .  .214 

Arch  of  Caracalla,  Tebessa . 218 

Temple  at  Tebessa . 222 


xi 


i 


r 


Jf 


-**  •  *  ttdMf*  *  *■ 


STUDIES  IN 

NORTH  AFRICA 


—  —  »*» ■  ■— ■■ 


STUDIES 

IN  NORTH  AFRICA 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CITY  OF  ELISSAR,  850-264  B.C. 

It  was  about*  the  year  850  b.c.  that  Elissar,  Prin¬ 
cess  of  Sidon,  fled  from  her  native  country,  after 
the  murder  of  her  husband  Sychceus  by  her  brother 
Pygmalion.  Descended  from  Ethbaal  or  Ithbaal, 
King  of  Sidon,  she  was  the  niece  of  Jezebel  and 
the  cousin  of  Athaliali.  Thus,  a  Wake  or  Dido, 
she  landed  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Tunis,  not 
far  from  the  little  Sidonian  port  of  Combe.  Hos¬ 
pitably  received  by  the  natives  and  their  King, 
larbas,  Son  of  Hammon,  who  subsequently  be¬ 
came  a  suitor  for  her  hand,  she  repaid  their  kind¬ 
ness  by  tricking  them  out  of  a  site  for  a  city  on 
the  little  hill  of  Byrsa.  There  and  thus  Carthage 
was  founded.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  she  dug  a 
Cothon  or  harbour,  to  which  she  welcomed  the 
battered  galleys  of  Aeneas,  like  herself  a  wan¬ 
derer  from  the  flames  of  Troy-town. 

*  Rollin  is  more  precise.  He  makes  Elissar  the  granddaughter 
of  Ethbaal,  and  places  the  foundation  of  Carthage  in  the  reign 
of  Joash,  King  of  Judah,  ninety-eight  years  before  Rome  was 
founded,  846  b.c. 


2 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


In  the  end,  capta  ac  deserta,  betrayed  and  for¬ 
saken  by  her  faithless  gnest,  she  built  a  great  pyre 
outside  her  palace,  and  cast  herself  despairingly 
upon  it :  so  she  perished,  either  to  bring  upon  the 
traitor  the  doom  he  so  richly  deserved,  or  to 
escape  the  importunities  of  her  unwelcome  suitor, 
Iarbas,  or  to  rejoin  in  death  her  murdered  hus¬ 
band. 

In  the  light  of  other  kindred  myths  of  the 
Semites,  a  very  profound  and  interesting  inter¬ 
pretation  may  be  given  to  the  story.  We  are 
taught  to  see  in  the  Queen,  the  Dido  who  accom¬ 
panies  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  on  their  way,  and  helps 
them  to  build  their  new  city,  no  mere  woman,  how¬ 
ever  exalted,  but  a  divine  being;  and  in  her  will¬ 
ing  death  the  noble  self-sacrifice  of  a  goddess,  who 
leaps  into  the  flames  and  dies  to  consecrate  and 
win  a  blessing  for  the  city  she  has  founded. 
Thenceforth  she  became  the  Tyche,  or  Luck,  the 
patron  saint  of  the  place  for  which  she  had  died ; 
and,  in  the  yearly  offering  of  a  maiden  at  her 
shrine,  her  death  was  commemorated  and  mysti¬ 
cally  renewed.  What  awful  act  of  sacrifice  or  self- 
sacrifice  may  lie  behind  the  myth  we  cannot  tell ; 
similar  rites  were  practised  at  Tarsus ;  and,  in  the 
stories  of  Hercules  Melcarth  and  Sardanapalus, 
traces  of  a  kindred  legend  may  be  found. 

Who,  then,  was  Elissar?  The  answer,  up  to  a 
certain  point,  is  tolerably  plain.  Both  Elissar 
and  Pygmalion  were  apparently  titles  of  Ashtart, 
the  biblical  Ashtoreth,*  goddess  of  the  Sidonians. 

*  That  is,  Ashtart,  with  the  vowels  of  Bosheth,  1 1  Abomination.  ’ 1 


City  of  Elissar,  850-264  b.c.  3 

To  identify  her  with  Tanith,  the  supreme  divinity 
of  Carthage,  attractive  as  it  would  be,  is  difficult ; 
for,  as  will  be  shown  later  on,  Tanith  was,  in  all 
probability,  a  Libyan,  not  a  Phoenician,  goddess; 
but  various  hints,  such  as  that  of  Justin,  that  her 
pyre  was  built  “at  the  end  of  the  town” — that  is, 
of  Byrsa,  the  city  of  Elissar — would  suit  an  identi¬ 
fication  of  the  Temple  of  Dido,  and  the  scene  of 
her  death,  with  the  Sanctuary  of  Tanith,  which 
stood  somewhere  between  Byrsa  and  the  sea. 
Here  it  was  that,  in  later  days,  the  human  sacri¬ 
fices  of  the  Carthaginians  were  offered  to  the 
goddess;  and  even  so  late  as  the  fourth  century 
of  our  era,  the  spot,  enclosed  in  a  thicket  of 
thorns,  and  inhabited,  so  it  was  said,  by  asps  and 
dragons,  was  surrounded  with  superstitious  ter¬ 
rors.*  It  was  even  found  necessary  to  destroy  a 
Christian  church  erected  on  the  spot,  or  into  which 
the  temple  itself  had  possibly  been  transformed, 
in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  polluted  rites  of 
which  it  had  been  so  long  the  abode.  Perhaps  it 
would  be  safer  to  say  that,  as  the  Phoenician  set¬ 
tlers,  and  their  worship,  became  Libyanised,  the 
worship  of  Elissar  Ashtart  paled  before,  and  at 
last  was  supplanted  by,  that  of  the  Libyan  god¬ 
dess. 

Such,  at  any  rate,  is  the  legend  in  its  best- 
known  form,  and  the  best  interpretation  which 
can,  at  present,  be  placed  upon  it.  The  story 
of  the  bulPs  hide  which  Elissar  cut  into  strips  to 
measure  her  grant  of  land  with,  may  be  at  once 

*Sil  Ital,  1.  81. 


4 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


put  aside.  It  arose  merely  from  an  accidental 
similarity  of  sound  between  the  Greek  word  for  an 
ox-hide  and  the  Phoenician  word  for  a  fortress, 
Byrsa,  or  Birtha,  the  biblical  Bozrah.  Apart  from 
its  decorative  details,  the  fable  is  valuable  merely 
as  a  testimony  to  Phoenician  trade  methods  and 
the  inventive  faculty  of  the  Greeks ;  while,  in  order 
to  bring  Elissar  and  iEneas  together,  Vergil  was 
compelled  to  do  that  which,  we  are  told,  lies  be¬ 
yond  the  power  of  the  very  gods  themselves,  and 

“annihilate  both  time  and  space 
To  make  two  lovers” 

/ 

unhappy. 

That  Carthage  was  Phoenician  in  origin,  its 
name  Karthhadach,*  the  New  City,  or  Naples — the 
Greek  Karchedon  and  the  Latin  Karthago — tells 
us  plainly  enough.  It  shows  also  that  it  was  not 
the  first  of  these  settlements ;  it  was  new  in  com¬ 
parison  to  Utica,  Outich,  the  Old  City,  which  lay 
to  the  north-west  across  the  marshy  plain  and 
Sebka,  which  were  then  the  Gulf  of  Utica;  new  in 
comparison  with  Tunis  (Tunes)  at  the  head  of  its 
lake,  or  with  Combe  which  stood  near,  if  not  on 
the  very  site  where  Carthage,  was  built.  The  pre¬ 
cise  relation  of  the  New  to  the  Old  City  is  doubtful ; 
on  the  whole,  it  seems  probable  that  Carthage  was 
not  an  offshoot  or  dependency  of  the  Tyrian  Utica, 
but  rather  a  Sidonian  city  founded  in  rivalry  with 
it.  At  any  rate  it  was  content,  until  450  b.c.,  to 


*  Karth,  akin  to  the  biblical  kirjath. 


City  of  Elissar,  850-264  b.c.  5 

pay  a  rent  for  the  ground  on  which  it  stood  to  the 
Berber  tribe  of  the  Maxyes. 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  inhabitants 
as  Carthaginians  or  Phoenicians  or  Pceni,  that  it 
is  difficult  to  realise  that  the  name  by  which  they 
called  themselves  was  none  of  these,  but  “Canaan- 
ite,  ’ ?  a  man  of  the  plains,  a  Lowlander.  The  Greeks 
gave  the  country  from  which  they  came  the  name 
of  Phcenike,  the  Land  of  Purple,  or  of  the  Red 
Men;  the  Romans  corrupted  the  name  into  Pceni 
or  Punians ;  but  even  so  late  as  in  Christian  times 
an  African  farmer  would  call  himself  a  Canaanite. 

The  site  of  the  new  city  was  well  chosen.* 

Low  down  on  the  Gulf  of  Tunis,  sheltered  from 
every  wind  that  blows  except  the  north-east,  from 
which  a  little  bay  and  a  great  breakwater  protected 
the  entrance  to  the  harbours,  an  isthmus,  ending 
in  a  triangular  or  fan-shaped  peninsula,  juts  out 
some  ten  miles  into  the  sea.  On  the  south  it  is 
washed  by  the  shallow  waters  of  the  lake  Tunis ;  on 
the  north  by  what  is  now  the  Salt  Lake  or  Lagoon, 
called  the  Sebka  er  Riana,  but  which  was  then  the 
open  Gulf  of  Utica,  where  the  great  river  Med- 
jerda,  or  Bagradas,  emptied  its  sullen  waters  into 
the  sea.  The  river  has  now  changed  its  course, 
and  vast  banks  of  sand  have  collected,  changing 
the  gulf  into  a  lake. 

From  the  head  of  the  Lake  of  Tunis  to  the  Gulf 
of  Utica  runs  the  protecting  mountain  range  of 

*With  his  characteristic  love  of  legend,  or,  as  we  should  call  it, 
folk-lore,  Vergil  tells  us  (Aen.  i.  444),  that  Juno,  or  Ashtart,  or 
Tanith,  commanded  Elissar  to  build  on  the  spot  where  she  should 
find  a  horse’s  head.  The  place  was  marked  by  a  sacred  grove. 


6 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


the  Djebel  Ahmor,  a  formidable  barrier  between 
the  isthmus  and  the  mainland ;  somewhere  in  these 
mountains  lay  the  cave  into  which,  on  the  fatal 
hunting  day,  Juno  Pronuba  led  Elissar  and  the 
Dux  Trojanus  to  shelter  from  the  storm,  while 
the  nymphs  shrieked  upon  the  hill-tops.  It  was 
the  day  which  began  the  long  enmity  between 
Carthage  and  Rome  which  was  to  end  only  when 
Scipio  wiped  the  great  city  of  Elissar  off  the  face 
of  the  earth. 

At  its  mountain  base  the  isthmus  has  a  width 
of  nearly  ten  miles,  but  it  soon  shrinks  to  little 
more  than  two ;  then  it  spreads  out  again  in  long 
even  curves  into  the  fan-shaped  peninsula  already 
spoken  of,  where  it  has  a  breadth  of  six  miles.  The 
northern  point  of  the  open  fan  is  occupied  by  the 
hills  of  Kamart ;  the  southern  by  the  narrow  neck 
of  land  called  the  Ligula  or  Tcenia,*  which,  like 
Chesil  Reach  or  the  Palisades  of  Kingston  Har¬ 
bour,  shuts  in,  save  for  a  narrow  break  in  the 
middle,  the  Lake  of  Tunis.  From  the  Ligula  the 
shore  line  runs  due  north-east  for  a  distance  of 
about  four  miles,  where  it  ends  in  Cape  Carthage, 
the  central  point  of  the  fan.  For  the  first  two 
and  a  half  miles  the  shore  is  flat,  then  it  rises 
rapidly  into  the  hill  now  crowned  with  the  New 
Fort,  Bordj  el  Djedid,  and  then,  higher  still,  into 
the  rocky  headland  of  the  cape  where  stood  the 
old  Pharos,  and  now  stands  the  lighthouse. 

The  trend  of  the  northern  shore  is  very  similar, 
only,  of  course,  in  opposite  directions.  A  long 

*  Now  called  La  Goulette. 


City  of  Elissar,  850-264  b.c.  7 

curve  to  the  north-east  ends  in  the  heights  of  the 
Bjebel  Khaoui  or  Kamart,  corresponding  to  the 
Ligula  to  the  south.  Then,  turning  to  the  south¬ 
east,  the  coast  runs  to  Gape  Carthage.  This  sec¬ 
tion  of  the  coast  is  mountainous,  save  for  a  single 
dip  at  La  Marsa  close  under  the  cape.*  On  this 
great  triangle  of  land  stood  Carthage. 

The  beginnings  of  the  city  were,  however,  much 
more  modest.  We  can  trace  them,  with  some  de¬ 
gree  of  accuracy,  by  the  position  of  the  cemeteries, 
of  which  the  sides  of  the  hills  are  full ;  for  by  the 
Semites,  as  by  the  Romans,  the  dead  were  con¬ 
sidered  unclean,  and  could  not  be  buried  within 
the  walls  of  the  city. 

In  this  way  we  learn  that  the  earliest  settle¬ 
ment  was  not  on  Byrsa  at  all,  but  on  the  seashore 
just  outside  the  Ligula,  where,  afterwards,  the 
great  harbours  were  excavated.  Here  the  coast, 
turning  abruptly  to  the  east,  forms  a  little  shel¬ 
tered  bay,  well  fitted  to  be  the  harbour  of  the  first 
inhabitants,  as  it  was  to  be  the  entrance  to  the  har¬ 
bours  in  later  days.  About  a  mile  due  north  of 
this  bay,  nearly  the  same  distance  from  Bordj  el 
Djedid,  and  about  half  a  mile  from  the  sea,  stands 
the  hill  of  Byrsa ;  on  the  land  side  it  rises  up,  by 
a  steep  ascent,  to  a  height  of  about  two  hundred 
feet;  on  the  other  it  drops  precipitously  towards 

*  The  distances  are,  approximately,  as  follows : — 


Cape  Carthage  to  Kamart . 4  miles 

Cape  Carthage  to  the  Ligula . 4  miles 

Across  the  isthmus  from  Kamart  to  the 

Ligula . 6  miles 

Cape  Carthage  to  a  point  on  the  centre  of 
line  across  the  isthmus . 


1  mile 


8 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


the  sea.  With  the  exception  of  the  Acropolis  of 
Athens  and  the  Capitol  of  Rome,  it  is  perhaps  the 
most  famous  hill  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  When 
first  included  within  the  bounds  of  the  city,  it  was, 
as  its  name  implies,  a  fortress  or  kasbah;  in 
course  of  time,  when  tyranny  at  home  was  more 
feared  than  attack  from  abroad,  it  was  consecrated 
to  religious  uses,  and  became,  like  the  other  two, 
the  central  shrine  of  the  national  worship. 

Two  lines  drawn  from  Byrsa — the  one  south,  to 
the  Ligula,  the  other  east,  to  the  seashore,  south 
of  Bordj  el  Djedid — would  enclose  the  site  of  the 
city  proper,  which  was  to  greater  Carthage  what 
the  City  is  to  greater  London.  Within  its  walls 
were  contained  the  great  Temple  of  Eschmoun, 
the  cathedral  of  Carthage,  which  stood  on  the  hill 
of  Byrsa  itself ;  the  less  officially  important,  but 
more  popular,  Temples  of  Hammon  and  Tanith; 
the  naval  harbour  or  Cothon,  opening  into  the 
commercial  harbour,  and,  through  it,  reaching  the 
sea;  the  long  line  of  quays  which  reached  from 
the  Ligula  to  Bordj  el  Djedid,  and  the  Forum, 
which  was  at  once  the  market,  the  Royal  Exchange, 
the  Law  Courts  and  the  Guild  Hall  of  the  city. 

Punic  in  origin,  Carthage  remained,  so  far  as  the 
government  was  concerned,  Punic  to  the  end.  Its 
constitution  was  a  narrow  and  rigid  oligarchy, 
from  which  all  but  the  old  Punic  families  were 
jealously  excluded.  There  was  no  extension  of 
the  franchise  or  citizenship,  such  as,  from  time  to 
time,  replenished  the  ranks  of  the  Republic  of 
Rome,  offered  a  reward  to  capacity  and  service, 


City  of  Elissar,  850-264  b.c.  9 

and  repaid  or  secured  the  fidelity  of  the  cities  of 
the  Empire. 

The  bulwark  of  this  oligarchy  was  the  council  of 
one  hundred,  actually  one  hundred  and  four,  of 
which  the  magistrates  or  “Suffetes”*  were  little 
more  than  the  officials.  As  these  offices  were  for 
sale,  it  became  practically  a  government  of  cap¬ 
italists,  in  which  the  great  families,  Magon,  Gis- 
con,  or  Barcas,  could  obtain  from  time  to  time  a 
predominant  influence.  Decayed  grandees  were 
enabled  to  retrieve  their  fortunes  from  the  spoils 
of  lucrative  offices,  such  as  those  of  tax-collectors. 

Thus  the  oligarchy  degenerated  into  a  plutoc¬ 
racy,  vulgar,  ostentatious,  self-indulgent,  and 
heartless.  The  story  of  the  contemptuous  amuse¬ 
ment  with  which  the  Carthaginians  received  the 
report  of  their  ambassadors,  that  the  whole  Senate 
of  Rome  possessed  only  one  service  of  silver  plate, 
which  reappeared  at  every  dinner-party  they  were 
invited  to,  sufficiently  describes  them. 

As  with  the  equally  vulgar  nobles  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  it  was  the  fashion  to  collect  works  of 
art,  and,  as  it  was  easy  to  employ  Greek  artists, 
or  to  steal  original  statues,  &c.,  ready  made,  from 
Greece  or  Sicily,  the  Carthaginian  millionaires 
filled  their  palaces  with  works  of  Greek  art ;  thus 
setting  an  example  which,  in  due  time,  the  Romans 
followed,  when,  in  their  turn,  they  looted  Car¬ 
thage.  Of  their  Architecture  it  is  difficult  to  judge, 
save  from  the  tombs ;  these  are  for  the  most  part 
strongly  influenced  by  Greece  and  Egypt. 

*  Shafetes,  or  Shophetim,  the  judges. 


10 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


On  the  other  hand,  they  possessed  and  devel¬ 
oped  in  a  high  degree  the  Semitic  aptitude  for 
hanking  and  business  generally,  which  has  made 
the  Jews  the  financiers  of  the  world.  It  is  said 
that  they  used  paper  money,  of  no  intrinsic  value, 
in  the  same  way  that  bank  notes  and  cheques  are 
used  now. 

They  have  left  no  traces  of  any  natural  science, 
or  art,  or  literature,  save  on  the  one  subject  of 
agriculture.  They  possessed  no  growing  or 
spreading  aptitude  for  political  life,  and  they 
showed  no  desire  for  free  forms  of  government. 

The  Carthaginians  had  no  lust  for  empire,  save 
that  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  ports  and  markets  which 
were  necessary  to  secure  and  develop  their  trade. 
They  never  fought  if  they  could  help  it.  Though 
capable  of  spasmodic  outbursts  of  desperate  val¬ 
our,  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  supplanted  in 
Egypt,  Greece,  Italy,  and  East  Sicily  almost  with¬ 
out  a  struggle ;  in  the  great  trade  war  with  Greece 
it  was  their  allies,  the  Etruscans,  who  did  most  of 
the  fighting  at  Cumas  (280  b.c.)  and  Alatia  (217 
b.c.)  They  lived  in  Africa  “  after  the  manner  of 
the  Zidonians”  in  their  old  land,  “quiet  and  se¬ 
cure  ? ’  in  “a  place  where  there  is  no  want  of  any¬ 
thing  that  is  on  the  earth. ? 

As  the  city  grew  in  power,  wealth,  and  popula¬ 
tion,  the  necessity  for  some  territory  was  increas¬ 
ingly  felt,  and  they  pressed  forward  gradually,  sub¬ 
merging  the  various  cities  which  came  in  their 
way,  destroying  their  walls  (except  in  the  case  of 


*  Judges  xviii.  10. 


City  of  Elissar,  850-264  b.c.  II 

Utica),  and  imposing  on  them  a  tribute  of  money 
or  of  men.  Thus  Leptis  Parva,*  south  of  Sousse, 
was  assessed  at  365  talents  (£90,000)  a  year. 

By  degrees  they  advanced  in  this  tentative  way, 
until  they  occupied,  more  or  less  completely,  a  ter¬ 
ritory  corresponding  fairly  with  modern  Tunisia 
and  the  department  of  Constantine.  The  Libyan 
fortress  of  Tevessa  was  not  captured  until  the 
time  of  the  First  Punic  War.f  Even  within  these 
limits  it  was  frequently  a  matter  of  alliance  rather 
than  of  conquest.  The  famous  inscription  from 
the  mausoleum  at  Douggaf  to  Ataban,  son  of  If- 
matel,  son  of  Falao,  is  in  Libyan  as  well  as  Phoe¬ 
nician,  and  records  an  intermarriage  between  the 
two  peoples ;  and  the  other  similar  monuments  at 
Kasserine,  and  Kroubs  (near  Cirta),  and  else¬ 
where,  show  that  it  was  by  alliance  with  the  native 
princes,  rather  than  by  war,  that  they  preferred 
to  spread  their  sphere  of  influence,  and  obtained 
permission  to  establish  settlements  and  markets. 
It  was  in  this  way  that  they  were  able  to  recruit 
their  armies  from  among  a  warlike  but,  on  the 
whole,  friendly  population.  Such  privileges  as 
these  were  all  that  the  Poeni  required,  and  for 
these  they  were  ready,  if  need  were,  to  pay  tribute. 

This  principle  of  alliance,  rather  than  conquest, 
was  carried  so  far  that  when,  at  the  time  of  the 
wars  with  Eome,  Cirta  was  taken  from  its  right¬ 
ful  King,  Masinissa,  it  was  not  seized  by  Car¬ 
thage,  but  left  in  the  hands  of  Syphax,  King  of 

*Now  Lamta.  -f-Polyb.  i.  73. 

j  Now  in  the  British  Museum. 


12 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


Massesylia,*  whose  alliance  was  purchased  with 
the  hand  of  Sophonisba.  The  territory  actually 
belonging  to  Carthage,  or  Africa,  consisted  of 
little  more  than  the  corner  of  land  between  Tha- 
braka  (Tabarca)  to  the  west  and  Taparura  (Sfax) 
to  the  south ;  and  this  was  all  that  the  Romans  an¬ 
nexed,  under  the  name  of  “Provincia  Africa.’ ’ 
The  land  thus  occupied  was,  for  the  most  part, 
divided  into  vast  estates  and  worked  by  slaves, 
a  single  owner  possessing  sometimes  as  many  as 
twenty  thousand;  the  native  farmers  and  peas¬ 
antry,  when  not  altogether  dispossessed,  were  re¬ 
duced  to  the  position  of  serfs  or  felahin,  and 
paid  a  rent  of  one  quarter  of  the  produce  of  the 
land.  Under  these  conditions,  agriculture  be¬ 
came  exceedingly  scientific,  and  the  treatise  on 
the  subject  by  the  Carthaginian  Magon  remained 
long  a  text-book  among  the  Romans. 

Of  this  city  of  Elissar,  the  Romans  did  not  leave 
one  stone  upon  another ;  two  little  ponds  mark  the 
site  of  the  harbours,  the  immense  systems  of  cis¬ 
terns  at  La  Malga,  near  Bordj  el  Djedid  and  else¬ 
where,  though  remodelled  by  the  Romans,  were 
probably  Punic  in  origin;  a  fragment  or  two  of 
wall  in  Byrsa  possibly  belong  to  the  Punic  forti¬ 
fications;  a  number  of  votive  tablets  witness  to 
the  faith  of  the  people ;  beyond  this  there  is  noth¬ 
ing  save  a  grim  layer  of  ashes  mixedf  with  bones 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  and  the  graves  of 
the  dead. 


*  His  capital  was  at  Siga,  west  of  Oran, 
t  This  layer  is  about  five  feet  thick. 


City  of  Elissar,  850-264  b.c.  13 

As  it  is  from  these  cemeteries  that  we  can  trace 
the  position  of  the  earliest  settlement  and  the 
gradual  growth  of  the  city,  so  it  is  from  their  con¬ 
tents  and  from  the  manner  in  which  the  dead 
were  laid  in  them  that  we  learn  what  little  is 
known  of  the  life  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city. 

The  sides  of  all  the  hills  are  full  of  tombs,  some 
reaching  back  to  the  seventh  century  before  Christ, 
while  others  date  from  the  times  of  the  Punic 
Wars. 

In  the  earliest  of  the  cemeteries,  which  lie  near¬ 
est  the  sea,  the  dead  were  laid  in  the  ground  with¬ 
out  coffin  or  covering  of  any  kind;  but  later  on  a 
different  and  very  elaborate  S3^stem  of  burial  was 
adopted.  A  vertical  shaft  was  sunk  into  the 
ground  or  rock  to  a  depth  of  about  thirty  feet, 
large  enough  to  allow  of  the  body  being  lowered 
on  a  litter  or  bier.  At  the  bottom,  lateral  cham¬ 
bers  were  excavated ;  the  walls  were  covered  with 
stucco,  so  fine  and  white  as  to  glisten  like  snow 
in  the  lamplight,  and  so  close  in  texture  as  to  ring 
like  metal  when  struck.  Above  the  stucco  ran  a 
cornice  of  cedar  supporting  a  ceiling  of  the  same 
wood.  The  whole  was  roofed  in  with  great  slabs 
of  stone,  the  weight  of  the  earth  above  being  borne 
by  other  stones  inclined  one  against  the  other,  and 
forming  the  curious  triangles  which  are  so  distinc¬ 
tive  of  these  sepulchres.  The  entrance  was 
blocked  with  a  great  stone,  and  finally  the  shaft 
was  filled  up  with  earth.  In  these  chambers  the 
dead,  decked  out  sumptuously,  were  laid  on  beds, 
facing  the  entrance ;  they  were  surrounded,  not  by 


14 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


any  dismal  funeral  trappings,  but  by  lamps,  vases 
of  perfumes,  and  other  familiar  household  furni¬ 
ture,  so  that,  when  they  awoke  from  their  sleep, * 
they  might  find  themselves  at  home  with  all  the 
gear  and  housing  of  their  earthly  lives  around 
them. 

Later  still  a  fresh  modification  was  adopted; 
the  body  was  laid  in  a  stone  sarcophagus  and 
sealed  up  with  resin.  On  the  lid  was  carved  a  re¬ 
cumbent  image  of  the  dead,  sometimes  of  great 
dignity  and  beauty.  Of  these  effigies  the  most 
noticeable  is  that  of  Tanith,  or  the  “ priestess,” 
hereafter  to  be  described.  Another  represents  a 
Rab,  or  priest.  In  this  the  features  are  grandly 
calm  and  dignified,  the  hair  abundant  and  curly, 
the  beard  and  moustaches  full.  A  long  robe  de¬ 
scends  to  the  sandalled  feet;  over  this  a  short 
cloak  falls  from  the  left  shoulder  to  the  hip.  The 
right  hand  is  uplifted  in  prayer ;  the  left,  bent  at 
the  elbow,  holds  a  vase  of  offerings. 

A  third  is  of  a  woman.  The  hair  stands  high 
over  the  forehead  and  is  brought  down  on  each 
side  of  the  face  in  two  long  plaits  or  curls.  The 
whole  body  is  clothed  in  a  soft  robe,  gathered  in 
loosely  at  the  waist  and  falling  in  graceful  folds 
to  the  sandalled  feet.  Over  the  head  is  drawn 
a  long  veil ;  it  is  held  by  the  right  hand,  which  is 
thrown  boldly  forward,  while  the  left  hand  draws 
it  easily  across  the  body.  The  figure  is  very  Greek 

*  Perhaps  it  would  be  more  accurate  to  say,  in  accordance  with 
Egyptian  beliefs,  “when  the  spirit  revisited  the  body. ”  Pap.  iii. 
36,  in  the  Louvre,  shows  the  winged  soul  descending  just  such  a 
shaft  to  reach  the  mummy. 


City  of  Elissar,  850-264  B.c.  15 

in  conception ;  except  for  the  position  of  the  right 
hand,  it  follows  closely  the  lines  of  the  Greek 
funeral  monuments,  a  very  lovely  example  of 
which  is  in  the  Vatican  Museum,  under  the  name 
of  ‘ 4  Pudicitia.  ’  ’ 

Besides  these  carvings,  there  have  been  found 
in  these  tombs  a  series  of  terra-cotta  masks,  so 
skilfully  modelled  and  so  characteristic  as  to  re¬ 
quire  a  word  of  notice.  Some  of  them  are  mere 
grotesques,  admirably  conceived  and  executed; 
these  were  placed  near  the  dead  to  frighten  away 
evil  spirits  by  their  grimaces.  Others,  equally 
skilful,  are  more  interesting  in  that  they  seem  to 
be  likenesses  of  real  men  and  women.  These  are 
distinguished  by  wearing  a  metal  ring,  the  biblical 
“Nezem,”  piercing  through  the  central  cartilage 
of  the  nose. 

The  first  is  a  man.  The  face  is  a  long  oval,  the 
forehead  high,  and  the  hair,  short  and  curly, 
grows  low  upon  it;  the  ears,  large  and  projecting, 
are  pierced  for  earrings.  The  upper  lip  and  chin 
are  clean-shaven,  but  the  cheeks  are  covered  with 
bushy  whiskers,  descending  to  the  jaw.  The  cheek¬ 
bones  are  high,  the  nose  long,  straight  and 
pointed.  The  eyes  and  mouth  are  drawn  up  at 
the  corners,  giving  a  shrewd,  humorous  expres¬ 
sion  to  the  countenance.  Altogether  the  whole 
face  is  pleasant  and  life-like. 

The  only  other  mask  I  need  speak  of  is  that 
of  a  woman.  It  is  curiously  different  from  the 
first.  A  snood,  like  an  Egyptian  Klaft,  covers 
all  the  hair  except  a  little  fringe  of  curls  over  the 


i6 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


forehead,  and  is  drawn  down  behind  the  ears  over 
the  breast.  The  ears  are  large  and  pierced  for  five 
rings,  two  in  the  lobe  and  three  in  the  upper  fold. 
The  nose  is  very  heavy  and  bulbous,  the  eyes 
large  and  drawn  upwards  as  in  the  other  case; 
the  chin  small  and  receding,  the  mouth  small  and 
drawn  up  in  a  smile.  The  whole  expression  is  so 
kindly  that  the  ugliness  of  the  nose  and  ears  is 
forgotten. 

Such,  then,  were  the  great  lords,  the  Hasdru- 
bals  and  Hamilcars  of  Carthage;  such  her  mar¬ 
iners  who  wandered  over  the  seas  as  far  as 
Britain ;  and  such  the  home-staying  folk,  the 
mothers  and  wives  who  welcomed  the  sailors  wdien 
the  voyage  was  over. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  SWOED  AND  THE  TRIDENT,  264-201  B.C. 

When,  in  the  year  264  b.c.,  Carthage  first  came 
into  armed  collision  with  Rome,  she  had  been  for 
nearly  two  hundred  years  the  Queen  of  the  Medi¬ 
terranean,  dominant  in  the  East,  so  supreme  in 
the  West  that  her  ambassadors  told  the  Romans 
that  they  might  not  even  wash  their  hands  in  the 
sea  without  leave  from  Carthage.  A  naval  power 
only,  she  had  never  sought  for  other  empire  than 
that  of  the  sea,  but  that  had  been  hers  so  com¬ 
pletely  and  so  long,  that  she  had  learnt  to  consider 
it  hers  almost  by  a  law  of  nature.  Just  as  now, 
wherever  the  traveller  round  the  world  finds  a 
piece  of  land  worth  having,  he  finds  the  English 
flag  waving  over  it,  so  was  it  then  in  the  Medi¬ 
terranean,  the  central  sea  of  the  ancient  world. 
The  south  of  Spain  owed  allegiance  to  Carthage ; 
North  Africa  was  fringed  with  her  factories  or 
emporia;  the  west  of  Sicily,  Sardinia,  Malta,  the 
Balearic  Islands,  accepted  her  rule.  With  Greece 
she  had  settled  her  accounts,  with  Rome  she  had 
a  treaty.  And  so,  sitting  like  a  queen,  like  Tyrus 
before  her,  in  the  midst  of  the  seas,  with  the  wealth 
of  the  world  pouring  into  her  lap,  it  is  little  won¬ 
der  that  “her  heart  was  lifted  up  because  of  her 


17 


1 8  Studies  in  North  Africa 

beauty,  and  she  set  her  heart  as  the  heart  of 
God.” 

But,  for  all  this  fair  show,  the  foundations  of 
her  supremacy  were  rotten,  for  it  rested  upon  her 
sea  power  only.  When  she  needed  troops,  Car¬ 
thage  had  to  trust  to  the  chance  friendship  of  the 
warlike  and  barbarous  tribes  which  surrounded 
her,  and  to  the  very  uncertain  loyalty  of  a  mer¬ 
cenary  army.  When  Hamilcar  Barcas  landed  in 
Spain  at  the  beginning  of  the  Second  Punic  War, 
it  is  said  that,  with  the  exception  of  a  General 
Staff  of  officers,  he  had  not  a  single  Carthaginian 
soldier  in  the  ranks.  It  was  by  his  disgraceful  be¬ 
trayal  of  his  Libyan  troops,  in  358  b.c.,  that  Hi- 
milco  gave  occasion  for  the  phrase 4  ‘  Punica  Fides, 9  9 
which  clung  to  Carthage  for  ever  after;  while  on 
their  return  from  the  First  Punic  War,  the  army 
of  Hamilcar  mutinied  and,  for  three  years,  en¬ 
gaged  Carthage  in  the  Mercenary  War  of  which 
Flaubert  has  given  so  lurid  an  account  in  Salambo. 

Meanwhile,  across  the  narrow  seas  which  divide 
Africa  from  Europe,  a  hardy  and  strenuous  race 
was  being  built  up  into  a  nation,  welded  together 
by  blood  and  iron.  Every  man  was  by  instinct  and 
necessity  a  soldier,  and  inspired  by  a  spirit  of 
patriotism  which  made  him  cheerfully  recognise 
and  accept  universal  service  as  a  national  duty. 
Conquered  Etruria  had  done  much  to  civilise  her 
rough  conquerors:  she  had  given  them  laws,  re¬ 
ligion,  architecture — everything,  indeed,  but  lan¬ 
guage.  The  rich  plains  of  Cisalpine  Gaul  (Lom¬ 
bardy)  had  been  occupied,  and  South  Italy  annexed. 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  19 

And  now  Rome,  looking  across  the  narrow  strait 
from  Scylla  to  Charybdis,  claimed  Sicily  as  a  nat¬ 
ural  and  necessary  portion  of  her  inheritance. 

So  long  as  Carthage  confined  herself  to  the  ex¬ 
treme  west  of  the  island,  to  Drepanum  (Trapani) 
and  Panormos  (Palermo),*  and  Greece  was  con¬ 
tent  with  her  foot-hold  at  Syracuse,  there  was  no 
occasion  for  any  actual  collision;  but  there  was 
not  room  in  the  little  island  for  the  intrusion  of 
a  third  power.  In  265  b.c.  Rome  made  her  first 
advance  by  receiving  all  Sicilian  Italians  into  the 
Italian  Confederacy.  In  the  following  year  Car¬ 
thage  replied  by  occupying  Messana  (Messina) ; 
Caius  Claudius  then  landed,  surprised  and  took 
prisoner  the  Carthaginian  Admiral  Hanno,  and 
retook  Messana.  At  this  the  Carthaginians  de¬ 
clared  war,  prefacing  it,  according  to  their  cus¬ 
tom,  by  the  execution  of  the  unfortunate  admiral, 
i ‘ pour  encourager  les  autres.”  Thus  began  the 
momentous  struggle  between  the  whale  and  the 
elephant,  which  was  fated  to  last  for  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  and  to  end  in  the  annihilation 
of  the  city  of  Elissar. 

It  was  inevitable  that,  in  its  first  stages,  the  war 
should  be  naval  and  its  issues  determined,  not  on 
the  land,  but  at  sea ;  and  the  Carthaginian  fleet  was 
overwhelmingly  the  strongest.  Hitherto  it  had 
consisted  of  triremes,  or  galleys  with  three  banks 
of  oars,  each  manned  by  ten  soldiers  and  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty  rowers,  slaves  who  never  left  the 

*  It  is  strange,  but  the  Phoenician  name  of  Palermo  is  not 
known;  11  Panormos”  is  Greek,  and  means  the  * 1 All-Harbour. ’ ’ 


20 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


benches  to  which  they  were  chained.  This  hor¬ 
ribly  cruel  discipline  secured  for  Carthage  two  ad¬ 
vantages  of  vital  importance:  she  could  mobilise 
at  a  moment’s  notice,  and  her  crews,  kept  in  a 
state  of  constant  and  severe  exercise  and  training, 
could  be  relied  upon  to  carry  out  those  tactics 
of  manoeuvring,  ramming,  and  sinking  the  ene¬ 
my’s  ships  on  which,  and  not  on  hand-to-hand 
fighting,  Carthage  relied  for  victory. 

But  in  addition  to  the  trireme,  she  had  recently 
learnt  to  build  a  much  larger  class  of  vessels,  Pen- 
teres,  or  quinqueremes,  with  five  banks  of  oars, 
which  occupied  towards  the  trireme  very  much  the 
same  position  as  that  taken  by  the  Dreadnought 
towards  the  old  line-of-battle  ship.  Each  of  these 
was  manned  by  about  twenty  soldiers  and  three 
hundred  rowers. 

This  new  departure  was  the  salvation  of  Rome, 
for  it  practically  put  the  triremes,  in  which  the 
great  superiority  of  Carthage  lay,  out  of  the  fight¬ 
ing  line.  Recognising  that  the  smaller  vessels 
were  hopelessly  outclassed  by  the  larger,  the  Ro¬ 
mans  made  no  effort  to  make  up  their  deficiency  in 
triremes,  but,  taking  a  stranded  Carthaginian  ship 
as  a  model,  concentrated  all  their  energies  on  the 
building  of  a  hundred  quinqueremes.  In  addition 
to  this,  realising  that  they  were  soldiers  attack¬ 
ing  sailors,  they  determined  to  make  a  naval  battle 
as  like  a  land  battle  as  possible.  For  this  pur¬ 
pose  they  placed  on  the  prow  of  each  vessel  a 
flying  bridge,  and,  to  the  crew  of  three  hundred 
sailors,  they  added  a  complement  of  one  hundred 


OLD  PORTS  OF  CARTHAGE  FROM  BYRSA. 


'  ■ 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  B.c.  21 

and  twenty  legionaries,  or  marines.  So  soon  as 
a  Punic  vessel  approached  and  tried  to  ram,  the 
heavy  bridge,  armed  with  a  sharp  spike  or  hook, 
which  gave  its  name  of  Corvus  to  the  whole  en¬ 
gine,  was  dropped  on  the  deck,  and  the  legionaries 
swarmed  over  and  boarded  her.* 

The  first  enterprise  ended  in  failure.  In  260 
b.c.  the  fleet  was  launched,  and  C.  Cornelius  Scipio, 
with  a  squadron  of  seventeen  ships,  tried  to  take 
Lipara.  The  Carthaginians  overpowered  him  and 
captured  the  entire  fleet. 

The  command  was  then  entrusted  to  C,  Duilius, 
and  in  a  battle  fought  off  Myloe,  near  Palermo, 
fifty  Carthaginian  vessels,  nearly  half  the  fleet, 
were  captured  or  sunk,  largely  by  means  of  the 
terrible  flying  bridges.  Duilius  was  awarded  a 
triumph,  and  the  strange  honour  of  having  a  flute- 
player  to  escort  him  home  from  dinner.  A  Col- 
umna  Rostrata — the  first  of  its  kind — was  erected 
in  the  Forum  and  adorned  with  the  beaks  of  the 
Carthaginian  vessels. 

Four  years  later,  256  b.c.,  the  Romans  felt 
themselves  strong  enough,  by  sea  as  well  as  by 
land,  boldly  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy’s 
country.  A  fleet  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  sail, 

*  The  description  of  the  Corvus  given  by  Polybius  is  minute 
but  not  clear.  In  the  prow  of  the  vessel  was  erected  a  mast, 
twenty-four  feet  high,  with  a  pulley  at  the  top.  To  this  mast 
was  attached  by  a  ring,  a  gangway,  thirty-six  feet  long  and  four 
wide,  with  a  railing  on  each  side  as  high  as  a  man’s  knee.  At 
the  end  was  an  iron  spike.  As  the  enemy  drew  near,  the  whole 
was  hoisted  to  the  top  of  the  mast,  so  as  to  clear  the  bulwarks, 
and  dropped  on  to  the  opponent’s  deck.  If  the  ships  lay  side 
by  side,  the  soldiers  boarded  where  they  chose ;  if  they  were 
prow  to  prow,  the  men  passed,  two  abreast,  by  the  gangway. 


22 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


carrying  forty  thousand  soldiers,  in  addition  to 
their  complement  of  one  hundred  thousand  rowers, 
was  despatched  for  Carthage,  under  the  command 
of  the  Consul,  Marcus  Atilius  Regulus.  Off  Mount 
Ecnomus  (Licata),  which  thrusts  its  huge  bulk 
out  into  the  sea  thirty  miles  east  of  Agrigentum 
^Girgenti),  they  encountered  the  yet  stronger  fleet 
of  Carthage.  In  the  battle  which  ensued,  not  less 
than  three  hundred  thousand  men  were  engaged. 
The  result  was  disastrous  to  Carthage;  she  lost 
ninety-four  ships,  and  the  Romans,  although  their 
losses  were  equally  severe,  achieved  their  pur¬ 
pose,  and  were  able  to  pass  on  unhindered  and 
effect  a  landing  at  Clypea  (Kilibia),  on  the  east¬ 
ern  shore  of  the  promontory  of  Cape  Bon,  while 
the  Carthaginian  fleet,  crippled  but  not  put  out 
of  action,  was  awaiting  them  in  the  home  waters 
to  the  west.  Their  coming  was  a  signal  for  a 
general  rising  of  the  native  tribes. 

For  a  time  the  success  of  Regulus  was  brilliant 
and  complete.  Driving  the  armies  of  Carthage 
before  him,  he  pushed  his  way  victoriously  round 
the  gulf  of  Tunis,  took  the  city  of  Tunis,  and  men¬ 
aced  Carthage  herself. 

Then  came  one  of  those  sudden  outbursts  of 
enthusiastic  heroism  of  which,  under  the  stress  of 
pressing  danger,  the  Carthaginians,  like  all  Ori¬ 
ental  nations,  showed  themselves  from  time  to 
time  capable. 

From  Sparta  they  invoked  the  aid  of  the  re¬ 
nowned  General  Xanthippus,  and,  under  his  lead¬ 
ership,  Regulus  was  totally  defeated,  his  army, 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  B.c.  23 

with  the  exception  of  some  two  thousand  men, 
exterminated,  and  himself  taken  prisoner,  255  b.c. 
Nor  was  this  all,  for  a  Roman  fleet  sent  to  his  as¬ 
sistance  perished  in  a  storm  on  the  coast  of  Sicily, 
off  Pachynus  (Cape  Passaro) ;  and  the  Cartha¬ 
ginians,  safe  for  the  moment  from  foreign  attack, 
were  at  liberty  to  settle  matters  at  home.  The 
rebellious  tribes  were  subdued,  and  their  sheiks, 
to  the  number  of  three  thousand,  crucified.  It 
was  the  ordinary  Carthaginian  method  of  keeping 
up  discipline  or  restoring  order. 

The  scene  of  war  then  shifted  finally  to  Sicily. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  defeat  by  land,  and  loss 
of  ships  by  sea,  which  the  Romans  had  suffered, 
the  Carthaginians  attacked  and  recaptured  Agri- 
gentum  (Girgenti),  and,  in  the  following  year, 
Drepanum  (Trapani)  also,  of  which  the  Romans 
had  made  themselves  masters. 

The  war  centred  round  Panormos  (Palermo), 
the  strongest  city,  with  the  finest  harbour,  on 
the  north  coast  of  Sicily.  The  city  lies  at  the  head 
of  a  little  bay,  from  which  the  beautifully  fertile 
valley  of  the  Concha  d’Oro  (the  Golden  Shell) 
stretches  inland,  under  the  shelter  of  the  hills 
now  crowned  with  the  glorious  church  of  Mon¬ 
reale. 

To  the  west  the  town  and  harbour*  are  sheltered 
and  protected  by  the  huge  shoulder  of  Ercte 
(Monte  Pellegrino),  which  was  then  connected 
with  the  mainland  only  by  a  narrow  isthmus. 
Here  the  Carthaginians  entrenched  themselves, 

*  The  original  harbour  is  completely  silted  up. 


24 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


and  the  Bomans,  although  they  blockaded  the  city 
and  soon  starved  it  into  surrender,  were  unable 
to  dislodge  them. 

The  year  351  b.c.  was  the  turning-point  of  the 
war.  After  receiving  strong  reinforcements  from 
Africa,  the  Carthaginians  made  a  determined  .ef¬ 
fort  to  recover  the  city.  In  this  endeavour  they 
were  foiled  and  utterly  defeated,  and  the  triumph 
accorded  to  the  Boman  general,  L.  Cascilius  Me- 
tellus,  was  adorned  with  their  elephants.  The 
Carthaginian  commander,  Hasdrubal,  escaped  to 
Carthage,  only  to  suffer  there  the  death  which  was 
the  ordinary  fate  of  the  defeated. 

The  Carthaginians  now  sued  for  peace  and  an 
exchange  of  prisoners.  In  hope  of  securing  more 
favourable  terms  from  the  Bomans,  they  sent 
Begulus  to  plead  for  them.  But  they  had  mistaken 
their  man.  Befusing  to  enter  the  Senate,  or  even 
Borne,  he  told  the  Senators  who  were  sent  to  con¬ 
fer  with  him  that  men  who  had  allowed  themselves 
to  be  taken  prisoners  were  worthless  and  did  not 
deserve  ransom,  and  exhorted  the  Bomans  to 
grant  no  terms  of  peace,  but  to  press  the  war 
to  the  bitter  end.  Then,  taking  leave  of  his 
friends  and  family,  he  returned  calmly  to  Car¬ 
thage,  in  accordance  with  his  promise,  to  face  the 
unspeakable  torture  prepared  for  him.* 

This  happened  in  the  year  250  b.c.  Three  years 
later,  in  247  b.c.;  Hannibal  was  born. 

*  The  scene  inspired  Horace  ( Carm .  iii.  5)  with  some  of  the 
noblest  verses  he  ever  wrote.  The  truth  of  the  story  is  very- 
doubtful. 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  25 

For  nine  years  longer  the  war  in  Sicily  was  con¬ 
tinued  by  the  genius  of  Hamilcar  Barcas,*  who 
now  appears  on  the  scene  for  the  first  time  as  a 
young  man  of  about  twenty  years  of  age.  In 
247  b.c.,  with  a  small  force  of  raw,  half-savage 
mercenaries,  he  seized  Ercte  (Monte  Pellegrino), 
and  for  three  years  baffled  all  the  efforts  of  the 
Romans  to  dislodge  him.  He  then,  244  b.c.,  moved 
with  troops  which  had  now  become  a  formidable 
army,  to  the  relief  of  Drepanum  (Trapani),  which 
was  closely  blockaded  by  the  Romans.  Seizing  the 
town  of  Eryx,  on  the  mountain  of  the  same  name, 
he  entrenched  himself  there,  and  by  means  of  his 
fleet  established  communications  with  the  be¬ 
leaguered  town.  Had  he  been  adequately  sup¬ 
ported  by  Carthage,  he  might  have  made,  by  sea, 
that  attack  upon  Rome  herself  which  his  son  was 
obliged  to  attempt  by  the  long  and  arduous  over¬ 
land  march  from  Spain.  For  two  years  longer  he 
maintained  himself  on  his  mountain  fastness. 

Then  came  the  end.  In  242  b.c.,  the  Romans 
despatched  an  overwhelming  fleet  under  the  Con¬ 
sul  Gaius  Lutatius  Catulus.  He  himself  was 
wounded  in  an  engagement  off  Syracuse,  but  on 
March  10  of  the  following  year  his  Praetor,  Publius 
Valerius  Catulus,  forced  the  Carthaginian  fleet 
which  had  been  sent  to  relieve  Drepanum  to  ac¬ 
cept  battle  off  the  island  of  Hlgusa  (Favignano), 
and  won  a  brilliant  and  decisive  victory  which 
rendered  the  cause  of  Carthage  in  Sicily  desper¬ 
ate.  After  crucifying  their  defeated  admiral,  the 

*  Barcas— Barak==Lightning. 


26 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


Carthaginians  sent  orders  to  Hamilcar  to  make 
peace  on  the  best  terms  he  conld  get.  By  these 
conditions  they  were  compelled  to  evacuate  Sicily, 
to  surrender  to  Rome  all  the  islands  between 
Sicily  and  Africa,  and  to  pay  a  war  indemnity 
of  three  thousand  two  hundred  talents  (£800,000) 
in  ten  years. 

Another  condition  was  that  Hamilcar  and  his 
army  should  pass  under  the  yoke.  This  Hamilcar 
flatly  refused  to  do.  The  matter  was  not  pressed, 
and  he  marched  out  with  all  the  honours  of  war.* 

Three  years  later,  taking  advantage  of  the  do¬ 
mestic  troubles  of  Carthage,  the  Romans  seized 
Sardinia  also,  at  the  invitation  of  the  Sardinians. 

Thus  ended  the  First  Punic  War,  in  the  year 
241  b.c. 

But  peace  with  Rome  did  not  bring  tranquillity 
to  Carthage. 

The  peace  party  was  now  in  the  ascendant  there, 
and  when  Hamilcar  landed  with  his  twenty  thou¬ 
sand  mercenaries,  his  command  was  taken  from 
him  and  given  to  his  bitter  enemy  Hanno.  While 
holding  Eryx,  Hamilcar  had  been  unable  to  pay 
his  troops,  and  long  arrears  were  due  to  them. 
These  arrears  Hanno  refused  to  pay.  A  furious 
mutiny  at  once  broke  out,  headed  by  Spendius,  a 
fugitive  slave  from  Campania,  and  Matho,  an 
African  who  had  distinguished  himself  greatly  in 
the  war.  As  usual,  the  mutineers  were  at  once 
joined  by  the  neighbouring  tribes,  and  a  war  broke 

*  He  had,  however,  to  pay  a  ransom  of  eighteen  denarii  (twelve 
shillings)  per  head  for  his  men. 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  27 

out  which  lasted  for  three  years,  and  brought  Car¬ 
thage  more  than  once  to  the  brink  of  destruction. 
Through  the  incapacity  of  Hanno,  defeat  and  dis¬ 
aster  followed  one  another  in  rapid  succession. 
Tunis  was  taken,  and  Carthage  itself  attacked. 
At  last  Hanno  was  superseded,  and  the  command 
restored  to  Hamilcar.  The  magic  of  his  genius 
and  his  well-known  character  for  probity  brought 
many  of  the  mutineers  back  to  their  duty,  and 
enabled  him  to  secure  the  aid  of  the  Numidian 
sheiks,  and  so  threaten  the  enemy  in  front  and 
rear.  Tunis  was  retaken,  Matho  utterly  defeated, 
and  his  army,  to  the  number,  it  is  said,  of  forty 
thousand,  driven  back  into  the  mountains  and 
hemmed  in  a  defile  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Hatchet,  to  the  east  of  Bou  Kornein.  Seeing  that 
success  or  even  escape  was  hopeless,  Spendius 
now  tried  to  come  to  terms.  With  nine  others  of 
the  principal  leaders  of  the  mutiny,  he  met  Ham¬ 
ilcar.  They  were  received  with  the  utmost  cour¬ 
tesy;  the  only  condition  Hamilcar  made  was  that 
ten  men  whom  he  should  name  should  be  surren¬ 
dered  to  him.  Astonished  at  such  clemency, 
they  at  once  consented.  6 4 Then  I  name  you,”  was 
the  reply,  and  they  were  at  once  seized  and  sent 
to  Carthage. 

In  despair  the  mutineers  prepared  for  a  des¬ 
perate  resistance.  When  their  supplies  were  ex¬ 
hausted,  it  is  said  that  they  ate  their  prisoners. 
At  last,  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  starvation,  they 
could  hold  out  no  longer,  and  were  trampled  to 
death  beneath  the  feet  of  Hamilcar ’s  elephants. 


28 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


Thus,  in  the  year  238  b.c.,  ended  the  War  of  the 
Mercenaries,  known  as  the  Truceless  War. 

The  First  Punic  War,  or,  as  the  Romans  called 
it,  the  Sicilian  War,  had  ended  inconclusively. 
For  twenty-three  years  it  had  dragged  on,  with 
varying  success,  hut,  on  the  whole,  greatly  to  the 
disadvantage  of  Carthage.  Sicily,  Sardinia,  and 
Malta  were  lost  to  her,  and  the  Mediterranean 
was  no  longer  a  Carthaginian  lake,  a  mare  clau¬ 
sum,  as  she  had  striven  to  make  it. 

This  was  much,  but  the  moral  results  in  the  loss 
of  prestige  were  much  more  serious  and  far-reach¬ 
ing.  Rome  had  learnt  two  lessons — that  it  was  not 
enough  for  the  one  mailed  fist  to  wield  the  Trident, 
unless  the  other  grasped  the  sword ;  and,  further, 
that  the  hold  of  Carthage  on  that  Trident  was  not 
,so  firm  but  that  it  might  be  wrung  from  her.  She 
had  pricked  the  bubble  of  Punic  supremacy  at  sea. 
She  had  done  what  Blake  did  for  England  when 
he  formed  her  first  navy,  marched  his  soldiers  on 
board,  and  swept  Yan  Tromp  and  the  invincible 
Dutch  from  the  sea  She  had  learnt  that  she  need 
not  fear  to  meet  even  the  terrible  sea-captains  of 
Carthage  on  even  terms.  The  glamour  of  fear  of 
Carthage,  which  rested  on  all  who  haunted  the  sea, 
was  gone  for  ever. 

A  peace  made  after  so  inconclusive  a  war  could 
be  little  more  than  a  truce,  and  the  breathing- 
space  was  short.  In  238  b.c.,  Hamilcar  Barcas, 
fresh  from  his  tremendous  vengeance  on  the  Mer¬ 
cenaries,*  landed  in  Spain.  His  business  was  to 

*  Perhaps  it  would  be  nearer  the  truth  to  say,  ‘ c  on  the  natives 
who  had  joined  the  Mercenaries.” 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  29 

thwart  Roman  enterprise  in  the  peninsula,  and 
to  build  up  there  an  empire  which  should  com¬ 
pensate  Carthage  for  what  she  had  lost  elsewhere. 
With  him  he  took  his  son-in-law,  Hasdrubal,  and 
his  little  son  Hannibal,  a  boy  nine  years  old, 
who  had  just  taken,  at  the  altar  of  God,  the  oath 
of  undying  hatred  of  Rome  which  he  so  faithfully 
kept.  “When  my  father,  Hamilcar,”  so  he  said 
to  Antiochus  long  afterwards,  “was  setting  out 
for  the  war  in  Spain,  he  called  me  to  him  and  bade 
me  lay  my  hand  on  the  sacrifice  and  swear  before 
the  altar  that  I  would  never  make  peace  with  Rome 
(nunquam  esse  in  amicitia  cum  Romanis).  I  took 
that  vow,  and  have  kept  it.  ’ 9  * 

In  nine  years  Hamilcar  had  subdued  all  south 
of  the  Tagus;  then  he  fell  in  battle  (229 
b.c.) .  His  son-in-law,  Hasdrubal,  took  his  place, 
and  continued  his  course  of  conquest  with  little 
effectual  opposition  from  the  Romans,  who  were 
hampered  by  the  invasion  of  the  Gauls.  Eight 
years  after  the  death  of  Hamilcar,  after  founding 
New  Carthage  (Carthagena)  and  subduing  all  the 
country  south  of  the  Ebro,  Hasdrubal  was  mur¬ 
dered  (321  b.c.)  and  the  command  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Hannibal,  now  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
six — one  of  the  two  or  three  men  of  supreme  mili¬ 
tary  and  administrative  genius  that  the  world  has 
seen. 

Unable  to  deny  his  greatness  as  a  soldier  and 
leader  of  men,  the  Roman  historians  have  striven 
to  belittle  him  by  accusing  him  of  savage  cruelty 

*  Polyb.  iii.  11. 


30 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


and  a  more  than  Punic  perfidy.  To  establish  the 
latter  charge  they  have  been  able  to  produce  no 
evidence  whatever.  Of  cruelty  they  adduce  one 
instance :  After  the  battle  of  Canine,  some  young 
Roman  prisoners  were  set — no  unusual  thing — to 
fight  against  one  another,  the  survivors  being 
promised  their  freedom;  on  their  refusal  to  fight 
they  were  all  put  to  death  with  torture.  But  such 
barbarity  seems  to  have  been  exceptional.  As  a 
rule,  Hannibal’s  treatment  of  his  prisoners  was 
not  marked  by  unnecessary  rigour,  while,  in  his 
respect  for  the  dead,  his  conduct  contrasts  very 
favourably  with  that  of  the  Romans  themselves. 
The  best  witness  to  his  genius  and  to  his  person¬ 
ality  is  that  he  never  lost  a  battle  in  all  his  long 
Italian  campaign,  and  that,  although  his  army  was 
a  mixed  multitude  of  barbarians  of  all  nations 
and  languages,  and  had  been  fighting,  without 
rest,  for  sixteen  years,  they  never  failed  him  or 
murmured,  and  he  never  had  to  quell  a  mutiny. 

Recognising  that,  if  Rome  was  to  be  conquered, 
he  must  strike  at  the  heart,  Hannibal  determined 
to  force  on  a  new  war.  For  this  purpose  he  at¬ 
tacked  Saguntum,  219  b.c.,  a  city  which,  though 
south  of  the  Ebro,  and  therefore  within  the  sphere 
of  Punic  occupation,  was  in  close  alliance  with 
Rome.  When  ambassadors  arrived  from  Rome  to 
complain,  he  coldly  referred  them  to  Carthage, 
and,  continuing  his  operations,  took  and  sacked 
the  town.  Arrived  at  Carthage,  the  envoys  found 
that,  after  nearly  twenty  years  of  peace  and  of 
careful  husbanding  of  their  resources,  the  temper 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  31 

of  the  Poeni  was  changed,  and  they  were  now  as 
eager  for  war  as  once  they  had  been  clamorons 
for  peace.  Unable  to  obtain  satisfaction,  the  Po- 
man  envoy  gathered  his  toga  into  a  fold  and  said, 
“Here  we  bring  yon  peace  or  war — take  which 
yon  please.’ ’  “Give  ns  whichever  yon  like,”  was 
the  answer.  “Then  take  war.”  “We  accept  it 
gratefully.”  Thus  in  the  year  218  b.c.,  began  the 
Second  Punic  War. 

Hannibal’s  plan  of  campaign  was  as  simple  as 
it  was  daring.  To  transfer  the  seat  of  war  to 
Italy;  to  raise  the  country,  only  half  subdued  and 
wholly  unreconciled  to  the  yoke  of  Pome ;  to  attack 
Pome  herself  if  possible ;  if  not,  to  push  on  to  the 
south  and  join  hands  with  Carthage  across  the 
narrow  seas  between  South  Italy  and  Africa. 

So  audacious  a  plan  depended  for  its  success 
upon  the  rapidity  with  which  it  was  carried  out. 
The  command  in  Spain  he  entrusted  to  his  brother, 
Hasdrubal  Barcas,  and  left  with  him  the  entire 
'fleet  and  fifteen  thousand  soldiers.  Late  in  May, 
218  b.c.,  he  left  Carthagena  with  an  army  of  ninety 
thousand  men,  and  pressed  forward  to  the  north. 
Overleaping  the  Pyrenees,  he  evaded  the  Poman 
Consul,  Cn.  Scipio,  who  was  watching  the  mouth 
of  the  Rhone,  by  crossing  the  river  higher  up, 
near  its  confluence  with  the  Isere.  Having  se¬ 
cured  the  friendship  of  the  Gauls,  he  pushed  on 
unhindered  to  the  foot  of  the  Alps.  Late  in  the 
autumn,  in  spite  of  the  frost  and  snow  and  of 
the  ceaseless  attacks  of  the  barbarians  who  hung 
like  wolves  upon  his  flanks,  he  “forced,”  to  use 


32 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


Napoleon’s*  word,  the  pass  of  the  Great  St.  Ber¬ 
nard,  cutting  his  way  through  the  snow-drifts  and 
splitting,  so  we  are  told,  the  rocks  with  vinegar. 
It  was  the  greatest  military  achievement  of  his 
great  career,  but  it  cost  him  dear.  Two-thirds  of 
the  army,  and  all  his  elephants  save  one,f  were 
left  behind  in  the  awful  passes. 

Descending  into  Italy,  he  found  Scipio,  who  had 
crossed  from  Spain  by  sea,  waiting  to  intercept 
him.  Advancing  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Po,  he 
encountered  him  on  the  Ticinus,  and  the  war 
opened  with  a  cavalry  skirmish,  in  which  the  Bo- 
mans  suffered  heavily.  Scipio  himself  was 
wounded,  and  was  only  saved  from  death  by  his 
young  son  Publius,  the  future  Africanus.  A 
dramatic  incident  indeed,  if  it  be  true,  for  the  two 
men  were  not  to  meet  again  until  they  stood  face 
to  face  at  Zama. 

Giving  the  enemy  no  time  to  recover,  Hannibal 
pressed  on,  fell  heavily  upon  the  other  Consul, 
Sempronius,  on  the  Trebia,  and  defeated  him  also 
utterly.  Then  as  the  autumn  was  over,  he  went 
into  winter  quarters  among  the  Ligurian  Gauls. 
It  was  then,  in  the  swamps  of  the  Po,  that  he  con¬ 
tracted  the  ophthalmia  which  cost  him  an  eye. 

In  the  following  spring,  Hannibal  left  his  quar¬ 
ters,  gave  the  Consul  Pluminus  the  slip  at  Arre- 
tium  (Arezzo),  ambushed  him  on  the  Lake  Thrasi- 
mene,  annihilated  his  army,  and  Borne  lay,  ap¬ 
parently,  at  his  mercy. 

*  ‘  f  Hannibal  forced  the  Alps — I  turned  them. 9  9 
t  This,  we  are  told,  he  kept  for  his  own  riding: 

‘ 1  Quum  Getula  ducem  portaret  bellua  luscum.  ”■ — Juv.  x.  158. 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  33 

Then,  if  ever,  the  gods  fought  for  Eome,  and 
she  saw  her  terrible  enemy  pass  without  venturing 
to  attack,  with  much  the  same  feeling  as,  on  the 
great  day  of  England’s  deliverance  from  Spain,* 
Drake  and  Hawkins  watched  the  Invincible  Ar¬ 
mada  pass  St.  Helen’s,  and  knew  that  Spain  had 
lost  her  chance,  and  England  was  saved.  As  he 
passed,  the  Dictator  Quintus  Fabius  Maximus, 
known  as  Cunctator,f  with  a  new  army  closed  in 
on  his  rear;  for  every  Roman  was  a  soldier.  At 
Cannae  (August  2,  216  b.c.)  the  lion  turned  furi¬ 
ously  upon  the  wolves  and  rent  them  with  a  car¬ 
nage  that  was  never  forgotten  or  forgiven;  sev¬ 
enty  thousand  out  of  an  army  of  seventy-six  thou¬ 
sand  perished  in  the  awful  slaughter.  But  the 
Senate,  never  grander  than  on  that  day  of  deadly 
peril,  merely  thanked  the  defeated  Consul,  Teren- 
tius  Varro,  a  plebeian  and  their  political  enemy, 
for  not  despairing  of  the  Republic,  and  prepared 
for  fresh  efforts.  Carthage  would  have  crucified 
him  4 

Again  the  road  to  Rome  was  open,  and  Mahar- 
bal,  the  ablest  of  Hannibal’s  lieutenants,  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  advance  at  once  with  the  cavalry. 
“They  shall  know  that  I  have  come  before  they 
know  that  I  am  coming ;  within  five  days  you  shall 
be  feasting  on  the  Capitol.”  But  permission  was 

*  August  4,  a.d.  1588. 

t  “Unus  homo  nobis  cunetando  restituit  ,rem.’, — Ennins  (quoted 
by  Vergil). 

X  The  aristocratic  Consul,  ^Emilius  Paulus,  refused  battle,  but 
the  Consuls  commanded  on  alternate  days,  and  Varro  accepted. 
Paulus  was  amongst  the  killed. 


34 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


refused.  4  4  Hannibal,  ’  ’  said  Maharbal, 4  4  you  know 
bow  to  win  victories,  but  now  how  to  use  them.”* 

The  parallel  of  the  Armada  is  curiously  true  in 
another  detail.  Medina  Sidonia  did  not  dare  at¬ 
tempt  to  land  without  reinforcements,  and  so 
pressed  on  to  Calais,  only  to  find  that  since  the 
death  of  Mary  Stuart  France  had  changed  her 
mind,  and  no  help  was  ready  for  him;  so  was  it 
now  with  Hannibal.  For  thirteen  years  (216- 
203  b.c.  )  he  held  his  ground  in  South  Italy,  never 
defeated,  it  is  true,  but  winning  useless  victories, 
with  a  dwindling  army,  and  always  looking  in  vain 
for  help  from  Carthage  which  never  came.  Capua 
was  his  Khartoum.  - 

Once  (212  b.c.)  he  marched  on  Home,  hoping  to 
draw  off  the  Roman  force  which  was  besieging 
Capua.  In  his  camp  on  the  Anio,  three  miles  from 
the  city,  Hannibal  was  told  how  the  place  where 
his  feet  stood  had  been  bought  for  its  full  value  in 
open  market,  just  as  Jeremiah  purchased  the  field 
of  Hananiah  in  Anathoth  when  the  Assyrians 
were  encamped  there.  But  the  tide  had  turned. 
4  4  God  once  gave  me  the  chance  of  taking  the  city, 
but  not  the  will ;  now  I  have  the  will,  but  not  the 
chance.  ’  ’f  He  made  a  futile  demonstration 
against  the  Capuan  Gate  and  retired. 

Once,  also,  his  brother  Hasdrubal  made  an  ef¬ 
fort  to  relieve  him  (208-7  b.c.),  and  advanced 

*f<Ut  prius  venisse  quam  venturum  sciant.” 

“Vincere  scis,  Hannibal,  victoria  uti  nescis.  ” — Livy,  xxii.  51. 

•f  ‘ 1  Modo  mentem  non  dari,  modo  f oxtunam. }  ’ — Livy,  xxvi.  11. 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  35 

from  Spain  into  Italy;  but  the  despatches  telling 
of  his  approach  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Consul 
Nero.  Forsaking  his  duty  of  watching  Hannibal, 
and  marching  day  and  night,  he  joined  the  other 
Consul  Livius  on  the  Metaurus,  gave  instant  bat¬ 
tle  to  Hasdrubal,  defeated  and  killed  him,  hurried 
back  and  flung  his  head  into  the  camp  of  Hanni¬ 
bal  as,  to  use  Danton’s  tremendous  words,  Home’s 
“gage  of  battle.”  Hannibal  realised  that  the 
last  hope  of  Carthage  had  died  with  his  brother.* 
Meanwhile  Home  was  not  content  merely  to 
keep  Hannibal  at  bay.  What  the  Carthaginians 
could  attempt  in  Italy,  that  P.  Scipio  undertook 
to  do  in  Africa. 

Elected  as  FEdile  in  212  b.c.,  he  was  sent  two 
years  later  as  general  to  Spain.  There  his  mas¬ 
terly  strategy  enabled  him  to  take  Carthagena  and 
defeat  the  incompetent  generals  who  had  suc¬ 
ceeded  Hasdrubal;  while  his  firm  and  generous 
policy,  and,  above  all,  his  absolute  good  faith,  gave 
him  unbounded  influence  over  the  native  chiefs. 
By  the  year  207  b.c.  little  remained  in  the  hands 
of  Carthage  save  Grades  (Cadiz).  Passing  over 
into  Africa,  Scipio  visited  Syphax,  King  of  the 
Massesylians,  at  Cirta,  and  sought  to  win  his  al¬ 
liance  for  Home.  It  is  said  that  he  there  met 
Hasdrubal  Giscon,  whom  he  had  defeated  in 
Spain,  and  that  the  two  noble  enemies  parted  with 
mutual  respect  and  liking.  The  hand  of  Sopho- 

*^Occidit,  occidit 
Spes  omnis  et  Fortuna  nostri 
Nominis  Hasdrubale  interempto.  ’  ’ — Hor.,  Carm.  iv.  4. 


36  Studies  in  North  Africa 

nisba,  the  beautiful  daughter  of  Hasdrubal,  kept 
Syphax  faithful  to  Carthage,  but  cost  her  the 
allegiance  of  Masinissa,  the  great  Numidian  chief¬ 
tain,  to  whom,  it  is  said,  Sophonisba  had  been  be¬ 
trothed.  Scipio  returned  to  Spain,  in  part 
thwarted,  but  with  a  new  ally,  who  was  thence¬ 
forward  to  prove  himself  the  faithful  and  indom¬ 
itable  friend  of  Rome.  During  his  absence  in 
Africa  a  serious  insurrection  and  mutiny  had 
broken  out  in  Spain,  but  Scipio  speedily  crushed 
both,  drove  the  Carthaginians  out  of  their  last 
stronghold  at  Gades,  and  returned  to  Rome, 
where,  in  206  b.c.,  in  spite  of  being  under  the  legal 
age,  he  was  elected  Consul  by  the  unanimous  voice 
of  the  people.  When  his  term  of  office  was  ex¬ 
pired,  he  chose  Sicily  as  his  province  (206  b.c.), 
and  at  once  prepared  to  carry  the  war  into 
Africa. 

With  the  exception  of  Caesar,  Scipio  was  the 
greatest  general  and  citizen  that  Rome  ever  gave 
birth  to.  In  military  genius  a  worthy  rival  of 
Hannibal,  he  was  in  personal  character  gentle  and 
unassuming,  loyal  to  his  friends,  generous  to  his 
enemies,  of  unimpeachable  integrity,  cultured  and 
refined.  It  was  well  for  Rome  that,  at  the  great 
crisis  of  her  history,  she  had  such  a  son  to  guide 
her  counsels  and  command  her  armies. 

And  now  the  weakness  of  Carthage  was  re¬ 
vealed  indeed.  Crossing  over  into  Africa,  Scipio 
wintered  at  Utica,  where  he  was  joined  by  Masi¬ 
nissa.  Syphax,  in  the  meantime,  was  playing  a 
double  game.  In  reality  the  influence  of  Sopho- 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  b.c.  37 

nisba  kept  him  faithful  to  Carthage,  and  his  army 
was  practically  supporting  hers.  Nominally,  how¬ 
ever,  he  was  acting  as  intermediary  between  the 
two  enemies,  and  there  was,  at  least,  a  truce  be¬ 
tween  him  and  Scipio.  This  truce  Scipio  was  per¬ 
suaded  by  Masinissa  to  violate.  Dividing  his 
army  into  two  divisions,  one  under  himself  and 
one  under  Masinissa,  he  made  a  simultaneous 
night  attack  upon  the  camps  of  Syphax  and  Has- 
drubal,  and  burnt  them  both.  Two  decisive  bat¬ 
tles  followed.  Syphax  was  utterly  defeated  and 
taken  prisoner,  and  the  Carthaginians  were 
driven  back  in  confusion  on  their  base.  The  vic¬ 
tory  was  complete,  but  the  whole  transaction  rests 
as  a  blot,  the  only  one,  on  the  scutcheon  of  Scipio ’s 
honour.* 

Cirta  and  the  whole  kingdom  of  Syphax  were 
given  to  Masinissa;  Carthage  was  invested  and 
sued  for  peace.  Terms  of  almost  incredible  mod¬ 
eration  were  imposed  by  Scipio.  The  status  quo 
was  to  be  accepted;  Spain,  already  lost,  and  the 
Balearic  Islands  were  to  be  formally  ceded  to 
Rome,  Masinissa  was  to  be  recognised  and  left 
undisturbed  at  Cirta ;  all  vessels  of  war,  save  ten, 
were  to  be  surrendered,  a  war  indemnity  of  five 
thousand  talents  (£1,000,000)  was  to  be  paid;  all 
prisoners  and  deserters  were  to  be  delivered  up. 

These  terms  were  formally  accepted  by  the 
Carthaginian  envoys  and  a  truce  declared,  while 
the  consent  of  the  respective  governments  was 
being  obtained. 

*  Syphax  died  in  captivity  before  the  triumph  of  Scipio. 


38  Studies  in  North  Africa 

Too  late,  Carthage  repented  of  her  desertion 
of  the  one  man  who  might  have  saved  her.  Han¬ 
nibal  and  his  brother  Magon  were  recalled.  For 
three  years,  205-3  b.c.,  Magon  had  been  fighting  in 
North  Italy,  striving  in  vain  to  effect  a  junction 
with  his  brother  in  the  south,  or  at  least  to  create 
a  diversion.  He  had  taken  Genoa,  but  in  a  battle 
near  Milan  he  had  been  seriously  wounded,  and 
although  he  obeyed  the  summons  of  Carthage,  he 
died  on  the  voyage. 

After  killing  such  of  his  Italian  soldiers  as  re¬ 
fused  to  accompany  him,  Hannibal  also  obeyed; 
the  Eomans  were  too  glad  to  see  the  last  of  their 
unconquerable  enemy,  to  do  anything  to  hinder 
his  departure.  The  Senate  celebrated  the  event 
by  presenting  a  wreath  of  grass,  the  highest  hon¬ 
our  they  could  accord  to  any  man,  to  Quintus  Fa- 
bius  Cunctator,  now  an  old  man  of  ninety  years, 
the  only  man  who  had  passed  through  those  awful 
years  of  peril  with  credit.  Fabius  died  in  the 
same  year. 

And  so,  after  thirty  years  of  splendid  service, 
Hannibal  returned  to  the  ungrateful  country  which 
had  forsaken  and  ruined  him.  Weary  and  worn 
with  service,  maimed — for,  like  Nelson,  he  had 
lost  an  eye  in  the  swamps  of  the  Upper  Po — his 
spirit  crushed  by  disappointed  hopes,  and  the 
strain  of  the  long  agony  he  had  endured,  he  landed 
at  Leptis  with  the  shattered  remains  of  his  in¬ 
vincible  army. 

For  the  moment  the  spirits  and  hopes  of  the 


Sword  and  Trident,  264-201  B.c.  39 

Carthaginians  revived.  They  repudiated  the 
terms  of  peace  which  they  had  just  accepted;  a 
Roman  transport  fleet  was  treacherously  attacked 
and  plundered,  and  a  warship,  with  the  Roman 
envoys  on  board,  was  seized.  But  it  was  hoping 
against  hope.  Hannibal’s  army  consisted  chiefly 
of  raw  levies,  his  elephants  were  wild  brutes  un¬ 
trained  for  war,  and  more  dangerous  to  friend 
than  foe.  With  such  materials  even  his  genius  was 
unable  to  cope  with  the  seasoned  soldiers  of  Rome, 
led  by  such  a  general  as  Scipio.  The  issue  could 
not  be  doubtful/  In  the  spring  of  202  b.c.,  the 
two  great  commanders  who  had  parted  on  the 
Ticinus  met  again  at  Zama,  near  Sicca  Veneria 
(Kef),  “five  days’  march  west  of  Carthage. ”f 
The  defeat  of  Hannibal  was  utter  and  complete. 
With  a  handful  of  followers  he  made  his  way  to 
Hadrumetum,  and  so  to  Carthage,  and  advised 
the  citizens  to  make  the  best  terms  they  could  with 
the  exasperated  Romans. 

These  terms  were  naturally  harder  than  the 
former.  In  addition  to  these,  the  Carthaginians 
were  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  of  two  hundred 
talents  (£48,000)  for  fifty  years;  they  were  not  to 
wage  war  outside  Africa,  and,  in  Africa,  they  were 
not  to  advance  beyond  their  own  territory,  or 
make  war  without  the  permission  of  Rome,  or  on 
the  allies  of  Rome. 

*  A  dramatic  story  is  told  by  Polybius  of  an  interview  between 
the  two  generals  at  Naragara;  it  was  not,  however,  found  possible 

to  come  to  terms  (Polyb.  xv.  5). 

t  Polyb.  xv.  5.  The  site  of  Zama  is  unknown. 


40 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


By  Hannibal ’s  advice  these  terms  were  ac¬ 
cepted.  Scipio  returned  in  triumph  to  Rome,  and 
for  a  time  the  land  had  rest. 

Thus  ended  the  Second  Punic  War.  It  had 
lasted  seventeen  years,  from  218-201  b.c. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  MAILED  FIST,  201-146  B.G. 

The  position  of  Carthage  was  humiliating,  almost 
intolerable,  but  not  desperate.  Hannibal  was  still 
alive  and  soon  proved  himself  not  less  able  as  a 
reformer  and  administrator  than  he  had  formerly 
shown  himself  as  a  general.  Under  his  stern  and 
impartial  rule  justice  was  once  more  dispensed, 
the  revenue  was  honestly  collected,  abuses  re¬ 
pressed,  the  finances  reorganised,  and  the  laws  en¬ 
forced.  The  heavy  war  indemnity  laid  upon  Car¬ 
thage  by  the  Senate  was  paid  off  in  less  than  half 
the  time  allowed,  and  generally  the  recovery  of 
Carthage  was  so  rapid  as  to  arouse  once  more 
the  jealous  fears  of  Rome.  Owing  to  her  match¬ 
less  position  and  great  traditions,  her  trade  and 
population,  and  with  these  her  wealth  and  im¬ 
portance,  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds.  To 
Rome,  the  very  existence  of  Carthage  seemed  a 
constant  threat.  She  had  never  considered  the 
conditions  of  peace  sufficiently  onerous;  now  she 
became  alarmed,  and  although  Hannibal  had  al¬ 
ways  honourably  observed  the  terms  of  peace,  the 
Senate  demanded  that  he  should  be  dismissed  and 
surrendered  to  them.  Carthage  was  utterly  un¬ 
able  to  refuse,  and  so,  to  save  himself,  Hannibal 
fled  from  the  city  he  had  served  only  too  well,  and 
disappears  from  our  sight. 

41 


42 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


Meanwhile  Carthage  had  other  troubles,  even 
more  pressing  and  immediate,  to  deal  with.  Mas- 
inissa,  restored  to  his  kingdom  at  Cirta  ( Con¬ 
stantine),  found  in  the  weakness  of  his  enemy,  an 
excellent  opportunity  for  paying  off  old  scores 
and  enlarging  his  borders  at  her  expense.  In 
160  b.c.  he  seized  the  province  of  Emporia,  on  the 
Lesser  Syrtes,  and  when  Carthage  appealed  to 
Eome,  the  commissioners  sent  to  deal  with  the 
matter  not  only  confirmed  him  in  possession  of 
the  territory  he  had  seized,  but  ordered  Carthage 
to  pay  him  five  hundred  talents  (£120,000)  in  ad¬ 
dition. 

Encouraged  by  this,  Masinissa  proceeded,  157 
b.c.,  to  seize  Tusca  and  the  fertile  plains  watered 
by  the  Bagradas.  Again  Carthage  appealed  to 
Eome,  and  a  second  commission  was  sent,  not  to 
arbitrate,  but  to  adjudicate.  When  Carthage  de¬ 
manded  that,  as  matter  of  simple  justice,  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  her  legal  right  to  the  territory  should  be 
inquired  into,  the  commissioners  at  once  returned 
to  Eome  and  reported  the  contumacy  of  the  hated 
town.  The  chairman  of  the  commission  was  Mar¬ 
cus  Cato,  and  so  impressed  was  he  by  what  he 
saw  of  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  Carthage, 
that  he  made  the  destruction  of  the  city  the  single 
aim  of  his  policy.  We  are  told  that,  from  the 
time  of  his  return,  he  ended  every  speech  he  made 
with  the  words,  Deienda  est  Carthago,  “  Carthage 
must  be  blotted  out,”  and  the  cry  was  taken  up 
by  Scipio  Nasica,  a  near  relative  of  Africanus. 
One  day  Cato  brought  into  the  Senate  a  basket  full 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  43 

of  ripe  figs  which  had  come  from  Carthage,  to 
remind  the  Senators  how  near,  within  three  days’ 
journey,  the  dreaded  rival  was. 

At  last  the  continual  and  unprovoked  aggres¬ 
sions  of  Masinissa,  and  the  refusal  of  Rome  to 
interfere,  or  even  abide  by  the  conditions  of  peace, 
compelled  Carthage  to  arm  in  self-defence.  Mas¬ 
inissa  reported  this  to  Rome,  referred  the  whole 
matter  to  the  Senate,  and  continued  his  attacks. 
The  battle  which  ensued,  151  b.c.,  was  witnessed 
by  a  young  military  tribune  who  had  been  sent 
from  Spain  to  collect  elephants  for  the  army.  He 
was  grandson  of  HCmilius  Paulus,  but  upon  being 
adopted  into  the  family  of  the  Scipios  by  his  uncle, 
the  eldest  son  of  Africanus,  he  had  taken  their 
name,  by  which  he  is  always  known.  He  saw  the 
shock  of  battle,  he  saw  Masinissa,  now  an  old  man 
of  eighty-eight  years,  vault  upon  his  bare-backed 
steed  and  charge  at  the  head  of  the  matchless 
Numidian  cavalry,  and  was  delighted  with  the 
sight.  Nobody  but  the  gods  in  heaven,  he  wrote 
home,  had  ever  seen  anything  so  beautiful. 

In  spite  of  his  defeat,  Hasdrubal  continued  the 
war,  but  at  last,  his  army  wasted  with  disease  and 
famine,  he  was  compelled  to  accept  whatever 
terms  Masinissa  chose  to  offer  him.  One  of  these 
was  that  the  army  should  pass  through  the  ene¬ 
my’s  camp  unarmed,  and  the  men  with  but  one 
garment  apiece.  As  they  went,  they  were  treach¬ 
erously  attacked  and  massacred;  only  a  few,  in¬ 
cluding  Hasdrubal  himself,  escaped  to  tell  the 
tale  in  Carthage. 


44 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


But  Hasdrubal’s  troubles  were  not  yet  over.  In 
the  extremity  of  their  terror  and  perplexity,  the 
Carthaginians  condemned  to  death  both  him  and 
Corbulo,  the  governor  of  the  city  whose  plea  for 
justice  had  ended  so  disastrously,  and  despatched 
an  embassy  to  Rome,  imploring  pardon  and  laying 
the  whole  blame  upon  them.  Hasdrubal  saved 
himself  by  flight. 

The  end  was  now  drawing  near.  Rome  had  ac¬ 
cepted  the  dictum  of  Cato,  and  made  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Carthage  the  keystone  of  her  policy.  It 
was  true  that  Carthage  had  been  wilfully  attacked 
by  Masinissa,  and,  like  the  hippopotamus,  had 
shown  herself  tres  mechante,  only  in  that  she  had 
defended  herself  against  his  unprovoked  assaults ; 
it  was  true  also  that  she  had  been  defeated.  Still, 
she  had  ventured  to  resist  the  ally  of  Rome,  and, 
in  her  present  temper,  that  was  enough  to  enable 
Rome  to  resort  to  arms.  Indeed,  there  was  an¬ 
other  reason.  It  was  one  thing  to  humble  Car¬ 
thage  ;  it  was  quite  another  to  allow  a  troublesome, 
and  possibly  even  dangerous,  ally  to  increase  his 
power  and  empire  at  her  expense. 

When  one  power  has  determined  to  attack  an¬ 
other,  it  has  never  been  found  difficult  to  make 
or  invent  a  pretext ;  and  now  Rome  had  found  an 
excuse  for  doing  what  her  mind  was  set  upon. 
Then  came  another  inducement.  Utica,  still  smart¬ 
ing  under  the  supremacy  of  her  younger  sister, 
sent  an  embassy  to  Rome,  put  herself  unre¬ 
servedly  at  her  disposal,  and,  in  fact,  became  the 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  45 

basis  of  operations  in  the  war  which  soon  fol- 
lowed. 

Meanwhile,  until  Rome  was  ready  to  begin,  dip- 
lomatic  negotiations  were  kept  np  with  Carthage. 
In  149  b.c.  a  last  embassy  was  sent  by  the  terrified 
Pceni  with  unlimited  powers  to  accept  any  terms 
that  might  be  imposed.  “What  do  you  want  us  to 
do?7’  they  asked.  “You  must  satisfy  the  Roman 
people. 77  “  Rut  how  ? 7  7  “  That  you  already  know. 7  ? 
And  with  this  answer  they  had  to  be  content.  The 
news  that  the  Roman  fleet  had  sailed  was  the  first 
intimation  vouchsafed  to  Carthage  that  war  had 
been  declared. 

Still  one  more  despairing  effort  was  made. 
Three  hundred  hostages,  the  children  of  the 
noblest  families,  were  demanded,  and  surrendered 
to  the  Consul  at  Lilybceum.  In  return  a  promise 
was  given  that  the  Carthaginians  should  be  left 
free  and  retain  their  land ;  of  the  city  nothing  was 
said.  The  details  were  to  be  settled  when  the 
Consuls  landed  in  Africa.  Thus  began  the  third, 
and  last  Punic  War. 

Much  had  changed  since  Zama  and  all  the  great 
protagonists  had  passed  away.  The  fierce  old 
fighter,  Masinissa,  had  died  at  last,  at  the  age  of 
ninety  years,  leaving  a  child  of  four* — just  too 
soon  to  see  the  downfall  of  Carthage.  Scipio,  the 
great  Africanus,  had  died  dishonoured  and  almost 
in  exile  at  his  home  in  Campania,  refusing  with  his 
last  breath  to  allow  his  bones  to  be  laid  in  the 


*  Or  one  year  old.  Cf.  Mommicn,  III.  vii. 


46  Studies  in  North  Africa 

sepulchre  of  his  fathers  on  the  Appian  Way,  out¬ 
side  the  gate  of  the  ungrateful  city.  4  ‘  Ingrata  Pa- 
tria,  ne  ossa  quidem  habebis.”  Such  was  the  epi¬ 
taph  he  desired  to  have  engraved  on  his  tomb. 
The  ring — 

1 1  Cannarum  vindex,  et  tanti  sanguinis  ultor  ’  ’ — # 

had  done  its  work,  and  Hannibal  had  died  by  his 
own  hand,  in  exile,  at  the  court  of  Prusias  in 
Bithynia,  183  b.c.,  pursued  to  the  last  by  the  unre¬ 
lenting  hatred,  the  daughter  of  fear,  of  Rome. 

But  the  old  names  reappear.  Another  Hasdru- 
bal  ruled  in  Carthage,  and  another  Scipio  was  to 
lead  the  legions  of  Rome  to  victory  final  and  com¬ 
plete. 

The  two  Consuls,  Marcius  Manilius  and  Lucius 
Censorinus,  one  commanding  the  army,  the  other 
the  fleet,  landed  at  Utica  unopposed,  149  b.c.,  and 
the  Gerusia  of  Carthage  attended  in  a  body  to 
know  their  fate. 

The  first  orders  were  to  disarm  the  city,  to  sur¬ 
render  not  only  the  tiny  fleet  left  her,  but  all 
materials  for  shipbuilding,  all  military  stores,  and 
all  arms  in  public  or  private  hands. 

This  was  agreed  to;  all  the  ships,  all  the  dock¬ 
yard  stores,  three  thousand  catapults,  and  two 
hundred  thousand  suits  of  armour  were  delivered 
up. 

Then,  with  a  perfidia  plusquam  Punica,  Marcius 
Censorinus  pronounced  sentence.  The  Senate,  he 

*  Juvenal,  x.  165. 


■1 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  47 


said,  ordered  that  the  city  shouM  be  destroyed, 
but  the  inhabitants  were  left  at  liberty  to  build 
another  wherever  they  chose,  but  not  within  ten 
miles  of  the  sea. 

When  the  Gerusia  returned  with  the  fatal  news 
they  were  greeted  with  an  outburst  of  furious  re¬ 
sentment  and  indignation,  which  recalls  that 
aroused  by  the  approach  of  Eegulus.  The  gates 
were  closed,  public  and  private  buildings  were  de¬ 
stroyed,  the  stones  were  carried  to  the  walls,  and 
with  the  timbers  new  catapults  were  constructed, 
the  ladies  cutting  off  their  hair  to  be  twisted  into 
thongs;  and  when,  after  a  few  days’  delay,  the 
Romans  advanced  deliberately  to  take  possession 
of  a  defenceless  city,  they  found  it  armed  and  pre¬ 
pared  for  resistance  to  the  death. 

By  the  surrender  of  her  fleet,  Carthage  had  lost 
the  command  of  the  sea,  and  with  it  the  control  of 
the  isthmus  which  lay  between  the  city  walls  and 
the  mountains  of  the  Djebel  el  Ahmor,  the  first 
line  of  defence  with  which  nature  had  provided 
her.  Still,  the  natural  strength  of  her  position 
and  her  almost  impregnable  fortifications  made 
the  task  of  the  Romans  one  of  extreme  difficulty. 

The  city,  as  already  said,  occupied  a  triangular 
peninsula  at  the  end  of  the  isthmus.  Its  land 
frontage  from  Kamart  to  the  Ligula  was  about 
six  miles  in  length;  its  two  sea  fronts,  from 
Kamart  to  Cape  Carthage,  and  from  Cape  Car¬ 
thage  to  the  Ligula,  were  about  four  miles  each. 

The  side  towards  the  isthmus  was  defended  by 


48  Studies  in  North  Africa 

a  line  of  fortifications  so  vast  as  to  be  described 
as  a  camp  in  itself;  bnt  abont  its  exact  nature 
there  is  some  difference  of  opinion. 

Along  the  sea  front  from  Kamart,  round  by 
Cape  Carthage  to  the  height  now  crowned  by 
Bordj-el-Djedid,  the  coast  is  mountainous,  and  a 
single  wall  of  circumvallation  was  considered,  and 
ultimately  proved  to  be,  protection  enough.  From 
the  Bordj  to  the  Ligula  ran  the  quays  of  the  city 
proper. 

At  a  point  now  called  El  Kram,  just  above  what 
we  have  called  the  Ligula,  where  the  isthmus  nar¬ 
rows  down  into  the  neck  of  land  which  shuts  in 
the  Lake  of  Tunis,  the  shore,  bending  sharply  to 
the  east,  forms  a  little  bay,  from  the  farther  point 
of  which  ran  out  a  great  breakwater.  Here  was 
the  sheltered  entrance  to  the  great  harbours, 
which  covered  an  area  of  about  seventy  acres. 
The  entrance  was  closed  by  huge  chains.  The  first 
harbour  was  a  long  quadrilateral — this  was  for 
the  mercantile  shipping ;  from  this  another  cutting 
led  into  the  Cothon,  or  naval  port  and  dockyard. 
Both  were  artificial,  like  those  at  Thapsus,  Had- 
rumetum,  Utica,  and  Rusicade  (Philippeville), 
and  lay  parallel  to  the  seashore,  from  which  they 
were  separated  by  the  quays. 

The  inner,  and  more  interesting,  Cothon  was 
round  and  surrounded  by  two  hundred  and 
twenty  docks,  each  large  enough  to  hold  a  vessel 
of  war.  At  the  entrance  of  these  were  Ionic  col¬ 
umns,  so  that  the  effect  was  that  of  one  vast  cir¬ 
cular  arcade.  Behind  lay  the  necessary  buildings 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  49 


of  an  arsenal  or  dockyard,  and  the  whole  was  en¬ 
closed  by  a  wall,  so  lofty  that  no  one  in  the  town, 
or  even  in  the  outer  harbour,  could  watch  the  work 
that  was  being  done  inside. 

In  the  centre  of  this  harbour  was  a  round  island 
connected  with  the  shore  by  a  jetty  to  the  north — 
that  is,  opposite  the  entrance.  On  this  stood  the 
admiral  *s  house,  from  which  rose  a  lofty  tower 
commanding  a  full  view  of  the  city  and  of  the 
sea.* 

From  the  breakwater  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  now 
crowned  by  Bordj-el-Djedid,  a  distance  of  about 
two  and  a  half  miles,  stretched  the  quays.  How 
they  were  protected  we  are  not  told,  but  no  land¬ 
ing  was  ever  effected  there,  or  even  attempted, 
except  on  one  occasion,  when  it  failed. 

From  the  end  of  the  quays,  under  the  Bordj-el- 
Djedid,!  started  the  two  lines  of  wall  which  consti¬ 
tuted  the  fortifications  of  the  city  proper.  The 
first,  dividing  the  city  from  the  vast  suburb  of 
Megara,  met  the  triple  wall  about  half-way  be¬ 
tween  Kamart  and  the  Ligula.  The  second  ran  to 
Byrsa,  and  thence  to  the  Ligula.  This  enclosed 
what  may  be  called  the  fortress  and  arsenal;  the 
whole  of  this  is  sometimes  called  Byrsa,  just  as 
both  harbours  are  sometimes  included  under  the 
name  of  Cothon. 


*  After  events,  in  the  course  of  the  siege,  seem  to  show  that  the 
great  triple  wall  was  carried  down  to  the  sea  between  the  harbours, 
thus  leaving  the  mercantile  harbour  unprotected;  but  this  seems 
so  unlikely  on  other  grounds,  that  it  is  better  to  leave  the  question 
an  open  one. 

t  These  details  are  uncertain,  but  this  is  the  view  taken  by 
Tissot  and  Boissier. 


50 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


The  population  of  the  city  was  about  seven  hun¬ 
dred  thousand. 

The  army  outside  the  walls  was  commanded  by 
the  Hasdrubal  whose  defeat  by  Masinissa  has  been 
related.  Under  him,  as  his  lieutenant,  was  a  bril¬ 
liant  young  officer,  Hamilco  Phameas,  whose  au¬ 
dacity  and  enterprise  made  him  the  most  dreaded 
of  all  the  Carthaginian  officers/"  The  command 
inside  the  city  was  entrusted  to  another  Hasdru¬ 
bal,  grandson  of  Masinissa.  Fortunately  we  are 
saved  from  any  danger  of  confusing  the  two  by  the 
fact  that  the  latter  was  soon  murdered  in  the  Sen¬ 
ate  House,  at  the  instigation  of  his  namesake  out¬ 
side  the  city. 

Against  a  city  thus  fortified,  and  defended  by 
desperate  men,  the  Romans  were  for  a  long  time 
powerless.  Manilius  attacked  the  city  from  the 
land,  but  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  two  of  his  engines 
were  so  huge  that  they  required  six  thousand  men 
apiece  to  work  them,  he  was  unable  to  make  a 
practicable  breach.f 

By  sea  the  Carthaginians,  although  they  had 
surrendered  their  navy,  more  than  once  destroyed, 
or  seriously  damaged,  the  Roman  fleets  by  means 
of  fire  ships ;  and,  when  the  wind  was  favourable, 
their  allies  succeeded  continually  in  running  the 
blockade,  and  kept  the  city  well  supplied  with  pro¬ 
visions. 

For  the  space  of  two  years  the  siege  dragged 

*  The  headquarters  were  at  Nepheris,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
lake. 

t  They  were  called  the  Army  and  the  Navy  from  the  men  who 
worked  them. 


! 

I 


>  I 

i 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  B.c.  51 

on.  Manilins  and  Censorinus  were,  in  due  course, 
superseded  by  Lucius  Piso  and  Lucius  Mancinus, 
148  b.c.,  but  with  no  better  effect.  The  Eoman 
army  still  lay  encamped  helplessly  before  the  city, 
but  the  end  seemed  no  nearer.  Discipline  became 
relaxed,  and  such  assaults  as  were  delivered  did 
more  harm  to  the  attacking  party  than  to  the 
defenders.  But  it  was  not  the  way  of  Borne  to 
look  back  when  she  had  on  hand  a  piece  of  work 
on  which  her  heart  was  set.  She  knew,  or 
believed,  that  Carthage  stood  between  her  and 
the  realisation  of  her  dreams  of  free  expansion 
of  trade,  and  of  the  naval  supremacy  which  she 
considered  necessary  for  this  expansion;  and  so 
Carthage  must  go,  at  whatever  cost  to  herself. 

Still,  though  her  determination  never  wavered, 
her  patience  was  becoming  exhausted.  The  elec¬ 
tions  were  drawing  near,  and  young  Scipio — Pub¬ 
lius  Cornelius  Scipio  AEmilianus  Africanus  Minor, 
to  give  him  for  once  the  full  name  and  title  by 
which  he  was  afterwards  known — who  had  been 
serving  in  the  African  army  as  military  tribune, 
returned  to  Borne  as  a  candidate  for  the  post  of 
iEdile.  But  the  eyes  and  hopes  of  Borne  were 
fixed  upon  him  as  the  man  who  should  bring  the 
war  with  Carthage  to  a  triumphant  conclusion. 
He  had  won  his  spurs  in  Africa  as  well  as  in 
Spain.  He  had  earned  the  good  opinion  of  Cato, 
who,  in  the  Senate,  had  applied  to  him  the  words 
which  Homer  used  of  Tiresias,  “He  only  is  a  liv¬ 
ing  man — the  rest  are  empty  shadows.’ ’  Above 
all,  he  had  shown  that  by  his  tact  and  probity  he 


52 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


could  win  the  confidence  of  barbarians.  In  Spain, 
it  was  said  that  a  town  which  had  refused  to  sur¬ 
render  to  the  Consul,  opened  its  gates  willingly 
to  him ;  in  Africa  he  had  gained  the  warm  friend¬ 
ship  and  unbounded  confidence  of  the  wary  Masi- 
nissa,  who  had  appointed  him  executor  of  his  will. 
Though  under  the  legal  age,  for  he  was  only 
thirty-seven,  he  was  unanimously  elected  Consul, 
148  b.c.,  and,  although  by  law  the  provinces  were 
given  by  lot,  Africa  was  assigned  to  him.  This 
was  in  the  year  147  b.c. 

The  first  task  of  Scipio  on  his  arrival  in  Africa 
was  to  rescue  Mancinus  from  a  very  serious  dif¬ 
ficulty.  Naturally  anxious  to  win  some  signal  suc¬ 
cess  before  his  term  of  command  expired,  the  Con¬ 
sul  delivered  a  furious  attack  ‘upon  the  city  and 
succeeded  in  penetrating  within  the  walls.  Once 
there  he  found  himself  equally  unable  to  advance 
or  to  retire.  For  some  unexplained  reason  his 
colleague,  Piso,  made  no  effort  to  relieve  him. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  opportune  arrival  of 
Scipio,  who  advanced  at  once  to  his  assistance, 
and  extricated  him  from  his  perilous  position,  the 
Roman  arms  would  have  sustained  a  disastrous 
defeat. 

* 

The  two  outgoing  Consuls  then  returned  to 
Rome,  and  Scipio  assumed  supreme  command, 
and  proceeded  to  make  mistakes  on  his  own  ac¬ 
count.  He  knew  the  impatience  at  Rome,  and  was 
at  least  as  anxious  to  celebrate  his  arrival  by  some 
great  feat  of  arms  as  Mancinus  had  been  to  dig¬ 
nify  his  departure. 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  53 

There  were  two  weak  angles  in  the  defences  of 
Carthage,  the  one  on  the  Ligula,  the  other  at  the 
foot  of  Kamart,  where  the  triple  wall  ceased  and 
gave  place  to  the  single  wall  along  the  sea  front. 
By  an  act  of  almost  incredible  folly  or  self- 
confidence,  the  Carthaginians  had  left  standing, 
at  this  latter  point,  the  tower  of  a  private  house, 
higher  than  the  wall  and  commanding  it.  From 
the  top  of  this  tower  some  Roman  soldiers  passed 
to  the  wall,  descended  into  Megara,  and  opened 
a  neighbouring  gate  for  the  Romans.  Scipio  en¬ 
tered  unopposed,  with  four  thousand  men,  but 
found  himself  in  the  same  position  as  Mancinus. 
Between  him  and  the  city  proper  lay  a  maze  of 
narrow  alleys  winding  between  the  lofty  walls  of 
villas  and  gardens,  and  even  if  he  had  succeeded 
in  fighting  his  way  through  these,  he  would  have 
found  his  advance  barred  by  the  great  wall  of  the 
city.  Such  a  plan  of  attack  would  have  involved 
enormous  risks  of  failure,  and  even  if  successful 
would  have  been  attended  by  a  loss  of  life  which 
he  dared  not  face.  He  gave  up  the  attempt  as 
hopeless,  retired  from  Megara,  and  sat  down  for 
a  regular  siege. 

But,  though  it  had  failed  in  its  immediate  ob¬ 
ject,  this  assault  was  not  without  any  result. 
Alarmed  at  such  vigour  and  so  near  an  approach 
to  success,  the  army  encamped  on  the  isthmus,  out¬ 
side  the  walls,  retreated  into  Byrsa,  and  left  Scipio 
free  for  the  work  which  he  next  took  in  hand. 
Hasdrubal,  not  unnaturally  enraged  at  such  cow¬ 
ardly  insubordination,  replied  by  the  usual  Car- 


54 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


thaginian  method  of  bringing  all  his  prisoners  on 
to  the  walls  and  there  massacring  them,  with  hor¬ 
rible  tortures,  in  full  sight  of  the  Romans. 

After  restoring  discipline  in  the  camp,  Scipio 
proceeded  at  once  to  make  the  siege  an  effective 
blockade  by  land  and  sea.  Advancing  his  head¬ 
quarters  from  Utica  to  the  isthmus  between 
Djebel-el-Ahmor  and  the  city,  he  constructed 
across  it,  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
Carthage,  a  quadrilateral  fortification,  consisting, 
on  three  sides,  of  a  deep  fosse  and  bank  strength¬ 
ened  by  a  stockade ;  on  the  fourth  side,  facing  the 
city,  he  built  a  great  wall  with  towers,  the  central 
one  being  sufficiently  lofty  to  command  Carthage ; 
this  immense  work  was  completed  in  twenty  days, 
and  on  the  land  side  Carthage  was  effectually  iso¬ 
lated. 

An  even  more  important  work,  and  one  for 
which  he  was  specially  fitted,  was  to  win  over  her 
allies.  A  dramatic  story  is  told  of  an  interview 
with  Phameas.  They  stood  on  either  side  of  a 
river  and  discussed  the  question.  At  first 
Phameas,  who  had  no  exalted  opinion  of  the  hon¬ 
our  or  trustworthiness  of  Rome,  hesitated;  after 
consideration,  however,  the  arguments  and  prom¬ 
ises  of  Scipio,  coupled  with  that  persuasive  con¬ 
fidence  which  he  always  inspired  and  deserved, 
prevailed,  and  the  most  active  of  her  enemies  be¬ 
came  the  firm  ally  of  Rome,  and  was  taken  into 
the  immediate  service  of  the  Consul. 

But  only  half  his  task,  and  that  the  easier,  was 
as  yet  accomplished,  for  Carthage  was  still  receiv- 


55 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c. 

ing  an  adequate  supply  of  provisions  by  sea. 
These  came  largely  from  Bithyas,  a  Numidian 
sheik  who  had  recently  joined  the  Carthaginians 
with  eight  hundred  horse,  and  seems  to  have  con¬ 
ducted  much  of  the  blockade-running  between  the 
camp  at  Nepheris  and  the  city. 

Scipio ’s  next  enterprise  was  to  close  the  mouth 
of  the  harbours.  Fighting  his  way  up  to  the  Lig- 
ula,  he  threw  across  the  little  bay,  from  the  shore 
to  the  breakwater  wdiich  protected  the  entrance  to 
the  ports,  a  gigantic  jetty  of  hewn  stones  ninety 
feet  wide,  which  effectually  blocked  the  approach 
and  rendered  relief  from  the  sea  as  impossible  as 
from  land.* 

But  the  Carthaginians  were  not  content  to  see 
themselves  thus  systematically  hemmed  in  by  sea 
and  land  without  an  effort  to  break  the  meshes  of 
the  deadly  net  which  was  being  drawn  around 
them.  Working  night  and  day  with  the  feverish 
energy  of  despair,  they  built  of  such  materials  as 
they  had,  a  squadron  of  fifty  new  warships,  and 
cut  an  outlet  through  the  quay,  from  the  inner 
harbour  or  Cothon,  to  the  sea. 

On  the  very  day  the  jetty  was  completed,  the 
new  fleet  of  the  enemy  broke  with  triumphant 
shouts  into  the  open  sea,  and  Scipio  saw  his  work 
undone.  Nor  was  this  the  worst.  In  the  belief 
that  the  sea  was  clear,  the  Roman  ships  had  been 
half  dismantled,  the  weapons  of  war  had  been  re¬ 
moved  to  the  siege  works,  and  the  crews  had  been 

*  This  immense  work  was  accomplished  in  thirty  days.  Traces 
of  the  jetty  are  still  visible. 


56  Studies  in  North  Africa 

landed  to  build  the  jetty.  If  tlie  Carthaginians 
bad  attacked  at  once,  they  might  have  destroyed 
the  fleet  utterly,  or  at  any  rate  struck  a  blow  from 
which  it  would  have  taken  the  Eomans  long  to 
recover.  Instead  of  this,  they  contented  them¬ 
selves  with  making  a  noisy  and  harmless  demon¬ 
stration,  and  returned  into  harbour.  For  three 
days  they  remained  inactive,  and  during  that  time 
Scipio  was  able  to  re-man  and  re-arm  the  fleet. 
At  last  they  offered  battle.  The  engagement 
lasted  the  whole  dav,  and  ended  in  favour  of  the 
Carthaginians.  When  returning  to  the  harbour, 
however,  the  vessels  were  entangled  in  a  mass  of 
shipping  which  was  issuing  from  the  new  outlet, 

and  it  was  found  necessarv  to  beach  them  off  the 

%/ 

quays.  Here  they  were  again  attacked  by  the  Ro¬ 
mans,  and  completely  destroyed;  Scipio  at  the 
same  time  furiously  assaulted  the  entrance  to  the 
harbours,  using  his  new  jetty  as  a  causeway  for  his 
troops.  Once  more  Carthage  owed  her  deliverance 
to  the  desperate  valour  of  her  children.  Wading  or 
swimming  into  the  sea  with  burning  torches,  they 
set  fire  to  the  Roman  ships  and  siege  works  and 
beat  off  the  enemy,  while  the  land  attack  by 
Scipio  was  repulsed  by  a  frantic  sally  against 
which  even  the  disciplined  courage  of  the  legion¬ 
aries  was  of  no  avail.  The  outer  harbour,  how¬ 
ever,  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Romans.* 

Once  more  Scipio  had  to  own  himself  foiled  and 
be  content  to  wait ;  but  this  time  it  was  only  for 

*  It  had  been  burnt  by  Hasdrubal,  and,  probably,  rendered 
useless. 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  57 

a  season.  The  quarry  was  penned  in  safely  by 
both  land  and  sea,  and  the  end  was  near  and  cer¬ 
tain.  Now  he  had  an  ally  who  conld  be  trusted, 
and  against  whom  all  human  valour  was  in  vain. 
Of  the  three  terrible  handmaidens  who  wait  ever 
upon  War — Fire,  Blood,  and  Famine — Scipio 
“ chose  the  meekest  maid  of  the  three,”  and  she 
served  him  well.  Afterwards  came  the  turn  of 
the  other  two.  He  had  only  to  wait  a  little,  while 
Famine  and  her  daughter  Pestilence  did  his  work 
for  him.  The  delay,  however,  was  not  wasted  in 
idleness;  his  colleague  Lselius,  taking  with  him 
Gulussa,  son  of  Masinissa,  whom  Scipio  had  at¬ 
tached  closely  to  himself,  cleared  the  country  of 
the  native  allies  of  the  Carthaginians.  Bithyas 
was  taken  prisoner,  the  camp  at  Nepheris*  was 
captured  after  a  siege  of  twenty-two  days,  and  the 
defenders,  to  the  number  of  eighty  thousand,  put 
to  the  sword. 

So  passed  the  terrible  winter  of  147-6  b.c.,  the 
Romans  keeping  watch  like  wolves  outside,  and 
seven  hundred  thousand  wretches  starving  inside 
the  walls  of  the  doomed  city.  When,  early  in  the 
spring,  “at  the  time  when  kings  go  forth  to  bat¬ 
tle,”  Scipio  renewed  the  attack,  it  was  against  an 
enemy  gaunt  with  famine,  decimated  by  disease, 
only  the  spectres  of  their  old  valiant  selves  that 
he  had  to  fight. 

Once  more  he  poured  his  legions  over  the  jetty 
which  he  had  built,  on  to  the  breakwater,  and  so 

*  Now  Hcnchir-bou-Beker,  between  Bou  Kornein  and  Djebel 
JKessas,  in  tlie  Plain  of  Mornag. 


58  Studies  in  North  Africa 

by  the  harbour  mouth  into  the  city.  Fighting  his 
way  inch  by  inch,  he  drove  the  enemy  back  upon 
the  Cothon  or  inner  harbour ;  this  also  he  stormed, 
and  that  night  he  bivouacked  in  the  Forum,  within 
the  innermost  wall  of  the  city.  Thence  to  the  foot 
of  the  fortress  hill  of  Byrsa  was  a  distance  of 
about  six  hundred  yards.  You  can  walk  it  now 
in  a  few  minutes,  down  a  hillside  blazing  with  tall 
yellow  pyrethrum  and  sweet  with  wild  mignonette, 
and  so  on  through  pleasant  level  fields  of  corn  and 
barley.  It  took  the  Romans  six  awful  days  and 
nights  of  carnage  to  force  their  way  to  the  foot 
of  the  citadel,  burning  and  destroying  as  they 
went,  sparing  neither  man,  woman,  nor  child, 
trampling  living  and  dead  alike  under  their 
horses’  hoofs,  or  burying  them  in  the  blazing 
wreckage  of  their  ruined  homes.  Before  them  the 
glorious  city,  behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness. 

Then  at  last  came  a  pause  in  the  butchery.  Has- 
drubal  surrendered  on  the  sole  condition  that  the 
lives  of  the  survivors  should  be  spared,  and  fifty 
thousand  miserable  creatures,  starving  and  half 
naked,  came  out  of  Byrsa  to  claim  such  mercy  as 
an  enemy  flushed  with  victory  and  glutted  with 
slaughter  might  show.  They  were  sent  over  to 
Italy  and  sold  as  slaves. 

There  were,  however,  still  in  Byrsa  nine  hun¬ 
dred  deserters  who  had  been  expressly  excluded 
by  Scipio  from  the  promised  amnesty.  These  shut 
themselves  up  within  the  great  Temple  of  Esch- 
moun,  and  Hasdrubal  with  his  wife  and  children 
remained  with  them.  Next  day  the  courage  of 


The  Mailed  Fist,  201-146  b.c.  59 

Hasdrubal  also  failed  him,  and  he  too  surrendered 
himself  to  Scipio. 

Scipio,  so  runs  the  story,  dragged  the  unhappy 
man,  clad  in  royal  apparel,  to  a  place*  whence  he 
could  see  and  hear  all  that  passed  in  Byrsa.  He 
watched  the  men  whom  he  had  deserted  set  fire  to 
the  temple  and  perish  in  the  flames.  After  endur¬ 
ing  the  fierce  reproaches  of  his  wife,  he  saw  her 
kill  his  children  one  by  one  and  cast  them  into 
the  fire,  before  leaping  into  it  herself,  like  another 
Elissar.  And  so  he  was  led  away  to  be  seen  no  more 
until  the  day  when  he  graced  the  triumph  of  the 
conqueror  in  Borne.  Finally,  he  and  Bithyas  were 
confined,  as  State  prisoners,  in  the  centre  of  Italy, 
and  treated  with  tolerable  kindness. 

The  work  of  Scipio,  the  younger  Africanus,  was 
done,  and  he  returned  to  Borne  to  make  his  report 
and  celebrate  his  triumph.  When  consulted  by  the 
Senate  as  to  the  future  of  Carthage,  he  declined 
to  give  any  advice,  though  it  was  understood  that 
his  opinion  was  against  the  wanton  destruction 
of  what  remained  of  the  city.  The  Senate  was, 
however,  in  no  mood  to  listen  to  counsels  of  leni¬ 
ency  even  from  Scipio,  and  it  was  finally  deter¬ 
mined  that  the  city  should  be  razed  to  the  ground, 
the  site  ploughed  over,  and  a  solemn  curse  pro¬ 
nounced  on  any  man  who  should  build  house  or 
plant  corn  there  for  ever.  Ten  commissioners 
were  appointed  to  give  effect  to  the  decree.  But 
their  task  was  an  easy  one.  When  the  inhabitants 

*  Probably  the  hill  opposite  Byrsa,  now  called  the  Hill  of  Juno. 
But  the  story  is  doubtful,  and  very  unlike  Scipio. 


6o 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


of  Megara  found  that  the  city  was  lost,  they  set 
fire  to  what  remained.  For  seventeen  days  the 
conflagration  raged — the  funeral  pyre  of  a  dead 
city  and  civilisation.  Delenda  est  Carthago ,  such 
had  been  the  resolve;  and  now,  Carthago  deleta 
est — wiped  out. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  MARCH  OE  EMPIRE,  146  B.C. — A.D.  40 

“Troja  fuit.”  “Troy  has  been.”  So  the  Dido 
had  said  to  iEneas;  and  now  the  same  was  trne 
of  her  own  city  also. 

Bnt  the  Romans  were  more  embarrassed  than 
intoxicated  by  their  success.  Their  rival  was  de¬ 
stroyed,  their  commerce  was  safe,  the  trade  routes 
in  the  Mediterranean  were  theirs.  This  was  what 
they  had  fought  for  and  won,  and  the  Senate  did 
not  desire,  so  Strabo  tells  us,  more,  or  to  take 
upon  its  shoulders  the  burden  of  a  new  foreign 
possession.  That  the  fall  of  Carthage  had  given 
them  an  African  empire ;  that  it  would  be  impos¬ 
sible  for  them  to  set  any  bounds  to  their  advance 
short  of  those  which  nature  had  fixed  in  sand  or 
sea — this  they  realised  as  little  as  the  ordinary 
Englishman  saw  that  the  prize  won  by  Nelson  on 
the  Nile,  or  at  Trafalgar,  was  the  over-lordship 
of  Egypt  and  India.  But  so  it  was,  Vestigia  .  .  . 
nulla  retrorsum  *  When  a  nation  has  put  its  hand 
to  the  plough,  it  cannot  look  back,  even  if  it  would. 

Meanwhile  Rome  fixed  the  seat  of  government 
at  Utica,  the  base  of  the  operations  against  Car¬ 
thage,  and  waited. 

But  the  site  of  Carthage  was  too  famous  and 

*  Hor.  Ep.  I.  i.  75. 

6i 


62 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


important  to  remain  long  unoccupied,  or  to  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  fall  into  other,  and  perhaps  hostile, 
hands.  Within  twenty-four  years  of  its  destruc¬ 
tion  Cains  Gracchus,  122  b.c.,  was  entrusted  with 
the  work  of  occupying  the  accursed*  site  and 
founding  there,  with  six  thousand  colonists,  a  new 
city  of  Junonia.  Little,  however,  came  of  it  ;f 
indeed,  the  main  object  of  the  Senate  was  to  get 
rid  of  and  discredit  a  dangerous  man.  Coins,  how¬ 
ever,  have  been  found  bearing  Punic  names  and 
the  Punic  title  of  Suffete,  which  seem  to  belong  to 
this  period,  and  to  show  that  the  place  was  occu¬ 
pied  by  a  population  in  which  the  remains  of  the 
Carthaginian  inhabitants  lived,  on  at  least  equal 
terms  with  the  Romans.  Caesar  slept  there  after 
the  battle  of  Thapsus,  46  b.c.,  and  in  consequence 
of  a  dream,  entered  in  his  diary  next  morning, 
‘ ‘ Rebuild  Carthage.’ ’  His  murder  prevented  his 
plans  from  being  carried  out,  and  the  work  was 
left  for  Augustus. 

Meanwhile  the  Romans  contented  themselves 
with  annexing  the  territory  of  Carthage,  consist¬ 
ing  of  little  more  than  the  corner  of  Tunisia  be¬ 
tween  the  islands  of  Thabraca  (Tabarka)  and 
Kerkennah ;  this  formed  Provincia  Africa,  and  it 
was  from  this  little  angle  of  land  that  the  name 

*  It  seems  strange  that  the  solemn  curse  should  have  been  so 
soon  forgotten  or  ignored.  Probably  it  applied  only  to  the  city 
proper,  and  it  was  proposed  to  build  the  new  city  on  the  site  of 
Megara. 

t  The  lines  drawn  for  the  streets  of  the  new  city  are  still  visible. 
“The  Cardo  and  the  Decumanus  Maximus  correspond  with  the 
road  which  leads  north  to  the  village  of  Kamart,  and  that  which 
descends  from  Sidi-bou-Said  towards  the  Lake  of  Tunis.  ’  * — Buines 
de  Carthage ,  p.  23. 


March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  63 

spread  until  it  embraced  the  whole  of  the  vast 
continent;  just  as  the  whole  native  race  of  North 
Africa  received  their  name  of  “ Berbers’ ’  from 
the  Brabra  of  the  basin  of  the  Nile — the  first 
Africans  with  whom  the  Arab  invaders  came  into 
conflict.* 

Beyond  these  narrow  limits  they  troubled  them¬ 
selves  with  the  affairs  of  their  neighbours  as  little 
as  might  be.  They  were  content  that  their  little 
settlement  should  be  surrounded  on  three  sides 
by  the  kingdom  of  Numidia,  which  Masinissa  had 
built  up,  and  Mauretania  kept  her  kings.  The 
country  was  vast,  difficult  of  access,  and  but  little 
known,  and  the  Senate  preferred  to  leave  the  task 
of  governing  it  in  the  hands  of  the  native  princes. 
The  position  was  like  that  of  England  in  India, 
where  the  native  princes  have  been  watched,  ad¬ 
vised,  subsidised,  and  tolerated,  just  so  far  as  was 
politically  advisable,  and  just  so  long  as  they  be¬ 
haved  themselves.  The  iron  hand  wore  the  velvet 
glove,  but  it  was  iron  still. 

For  a  time  this  attitude  of  detachment  answered 
sufficiently  well,  but  it  could  not  last  long.  Masi¬ 
nissa  was  dead,  and  both  interest  and  gratitude  at¬ 
tached  his  successor,  Mecipsa,  firmly  to  Rome.  He 
was  a  faithful  ally  in  the  sense  in  which  the  Senate 
understood  the  term:  he  welcomed  the  Italian 
merchants  and  bankers  and  allowed  them  to  settle 
in  his  cities,  even  in  Cirta  itself ;  and  his  cavalry 

*  This  accidental  renaming  of  a  country  is  curiously  common. 
Thus  Canaan  took  its  new  name  from  the  Philistines,  Hellas  from 
the  Graii,  Etruria  and  Latium  from  the  Itali,  Gaul  from  the 
Franks,  Britain  from  the  Angles,  Caledonia  from  the  Irish  Scots. 


64  Studies  in  North  Africa 

served  in  the  Roman  armies.  But  on  Ms  death, 
in  118  B.cv  troubles  began  at  once.  His  two  sons, 
Hiempsal  and  Adherbal,  were  as  tame  as  could  he 
desired,  hut  besides  these  he  left  a  nephew,  a  nat¬ 
ural  son  of  his  brother  Mastanabal,  who,  after 
learning  his  business  as  a  cavalry  officer  in  the 
army  of  Scipio,  was  destined  to  revolutionise  the 
Roman  rule  in  Africa. 

Jugurtha  was  a  worthy  descendant  of  Masi- 
nissa.  A  born  fighter  and  hunter,  brave,  handsome, 
generous,  he  was  the  idol  of  his  soldiers,  and  won 
a  popularity  which  was  enhanced  by  his  barbaric 
virtues  of  crafty,  unscrupulous  ambition  and  a 
savage  indifference  to  life.  Unfortunately  for 
Rome,  he  had  learnt  much  in  the  camp  of  Scipio 
besides  the  art  of  war;  he  had  fathomed  the  de¬ 
pravity  of  the  masters  of  the  world,  and  had  been 
taught  that,  in  dealing  with  such  men,  everything 
was  possible  to  him  who  possessed  sufficient  au¬ 
dacity  and  money. 

Events  moved  rapidly.  In  117  b.c.  Hiempsal 
was  murdered,  probably  by  Jugurtha,  and  Adher¬ 
bal,  worsted  in  the  war  which  ensued,  fled  to  Italy 
to  avoid  a  like  fate,  and  to  lay  his  grievances  be¬ 
fore  the  tribunal  at  Rome.  After  preparing  the 
ground  with  liberal  bribes,  Jugurtha  followed  him, 
and  also  placed  himself  unreservedly  in  the  hands 
of  the  Senate.  Such  tact  and  submission  suc¬ 
ceeded  as  they  deserved,  and  he  was  acquitted. 
Commissioners  were  sent  to  Numidia  to  divide  the 
country  between  the  rivals.  Jugurtha  bribed  them 
also  and  obtained  the  lion’s  share.  On  their  de- 


March  of  Empire,  146  B.C.-A.D.  40  65 

parture  he  began  the  war  again,  took  Cirta  and 
murdered  Adherbal,  and  with  him  the  Italian  sol¬ 
diers  and  merchants  who  had  taken  his  part.  This 
was  a  fatal  mistake,  for  the  popular  indignation 
at  Rome  compelled  the  Senate  to  declare  war. 
The  command  was  given  to  the  Consul,  Calpur- 
nius.  Him  also  Jugurtha  bribed  and  obtained 
terms  of  peace  so  favourable  that  the  Senate  hesi¬ 
tated  to  ratify  them.  Once  again  Jugurtha  had  to 
visit  Rome  and  explain  matters  by  his  one  unfail¬ 
ing  argument  of  gold.  At  Rome  he  found  Massiva, 
son  of  the  Gulussa  who  had  done  such  yeoman  ser¬ 
vice  for  Scipio  in  the  siege  of  Carthage.  There 
was  some  talk  of  sharing  the  kingdom  between  the 
cousins,  so  him,  too,  Jugurtha  was  compelled  to 
murder.  This  was  too  much.  Hitherto  Jugurtha 
had  worked  on  the  assumption  that  everything 
was  to  be  bought  at  Rome;  “Urbem  venalem,”  he 
is  reported  to  have  often  said,  “et  mature  peri- 
turam  si  emptorem  invenerit.  ’  ’  *  Now  the  rule 
broke  down,  and  although  his  safe  conduct  was 
respected,  he  was  ordered  to  leave  the  city. 

The  favourite  officer  of  Scipio  knew  the  strength 
and  the  weakness  of  the  army  in  which  he  had 
served,  and  against  which  he  was  now  to  fight.  He 
knew  also  the  character  and  resources  of  the  coun¬ 
try  in  which  the  war  was  to  be  carried  on.  Avoid¬ 
ing  pitched  battles,  he  waged  a  guerrilla  war  of 
perpetual  skirmishes,  ambuscades,  surprises. 
South  Africa  has  taught  us  how  long  and  difficult 

*  Jug.  35.  Again: 
esse.”  (Jug.  20). 


“Certum  esse  ratus  omnia  Eomae  venalia 


66 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


a  task  it  is  for  trained  troops,  in  the  enemy’s  coun- 
try,  to  meet  such  tactics  as  these,  especially  if 
carried  out  by  a  commander  of  real  military  gen¬ 
ius.  In  110  b.c.,  he  even  succeeded  in  defeating 
the  Consul  Aulus,  and  made  the  army  pass  under 
the  yoke. 

However,  in  the  end,  against  such  men  as  Metel- 
lus,  Marius,  and  Sylla,  this  strategy  was  in  vain. 
Metellus  forced  him  to  make  a  stand  on  the  Mul- 
thul  and  defeated  him,  much  as  Kitchener  did  the 
Mahdi  at  Omdurman,  and  besieged  and  took  his 
cities  one  after  the  other.  Marius  drove  him  back 
into  the  extreme  south,  and  again  defeated  him 
tod  his  ally  and  father-in-law,  Bocchus,  King  of 
Mauretania.  The  diplomacy  of  Sylla  won  over 
Bocchus.  Jugurtha  was  betrayed  into  the  hands 
of  the  Bomans,  and  after  figuring,  like  Hasdrubal, 
in  the  triumph  of  his  conqueror,  was  lowered  into 
the  “cold  bath”  of  the  Tullianum*  and  starved  to 
death. 

Again  Rome  disdained  to  fly  upon  the  spoil.  Boc¬ 
chus  was  rewarded  for  his  treachery  with  the 
country  west  of  Numidia,  and  the  rest  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  Gunda,  the  grandson  of  Masinissa, 
who  reigned  in  peaceful  obscurity  at  Cirta. 

Tribal  jealousies  and  ambitions  have  always 
rendered  the  Berbers  incapable  of  united  or  sus¬ 
tained  patriotic  action.  After  the  fall  of  Jugurtha, 

*  The  Tullianum  is  now  known,  wrongly,  as  the  Mamertine 
Prison,  of  which  it  was  at  first  the  well,  and  then,  when  drained 
into  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  the  place  of  execution  for  important 
political  prisoners  such  as  Catiline.  The  prison,  important  frag¬ 
ments  of  which  still  remain,  stood  above  it. 


March  of  Empire,  146  B.C.-A.D.  40  67 

the  petty  kings  and  princes  were  far  more  anxious 
to  obtain  the  help  of  Rome  against  their  rivals 
than  to  unite  with  those  rivals  and  secure  liberty 
for  Africa.  And  thus  it  happened  that  the  feuds  at 
Rome  between  Marius  and  Sylla,  or  Pompey  and 
Caesar,  were  taken  up  eagerly  in  Africa  and  often 
fought  out  on  African  soil.  Hiempsal  II.,  the  son 
of  Gunda,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Nu- 
midia,  espoused  the  cause  of  Sylla.  He  was  de¬ 
posed  by  the  lieutenant  of  Marius  and  reinstated 
by  Pompey,  who  thus  secured  the  adherence  of 
himself  and  his  son  Juba  I.  for  the  Senatorial 
party  in  the  war  with  Caesar.  When,  after  the 
battle  of  Pharsalia,  Caesar’s  lieutenant  was  killed, 
and  Africa  occupied  by  Attius  Yarus  on  behalf 
of  the  Senate,  Juba  at  once  joined  him.  While 
Caesar  was  busy  in  Egypt  and  Pontus,  the  Pom¬ 
peians  massed  their  scattered  forces  in  Africa. 
At  the  head  were  Q.  Metellus  Scipio,  Afranius,  and 
Cato,  who  crossed  over  from  Italy  with  what 
troops  he  could  collect,  and  joined  them  from  the 
south,  marching  from  Cyrene  along  the  shores  of 
the  Syrtes.  The  adhesion  of  Juba  to  the  Pom¬ 
peians  secured  the  alliance  of  Bocchus  and  Bo- 
gad,  kings  of  Mauretania,  for  Caesar ;  and  on  the 
west  the  forces  of  the  Senate  were  kept  in  check 
by  their  troops,  under  the  command  of  a  Roman 
adventurer,  P.  Sittius,  until  such  time  as  Caesar 
himself  might  come.  This  was  not  until  the  au¬ 
tumn  of  the  year  47  b.c.  In  April  46  b.c.,  Caesar 
won  his  complete  and  final  victory  at  Thapsus 
(Ras  Dinas),  on  the  coast  between  Monastir  and 


68 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


Metidia,  a  hundred  miles  south  of  Carthage.  Juba 
and  Cato  committed  suicide,  the  one  on  the  field 
of  battle  and  the  other  at  Utica,  and  Caesar  re¬ 
turned  in  triumph  to  Rome,  taking  with  him  the 
little  son  of  Juba,  who  was  to  reappear  later  on 
as  Juba  II.  The  boy  was  treated  with  no  ordinary 
distinction,  kindness,  and  wisdom.  He  was  en¬ 
trusted  to  the  care  of  Octavia,  Caesar’s  own  sister, 
and  widow  of  both  Pompey  and  Anthony,  one  of 
the  very  noblest  of  the  ladies  of  Rome  in  rank 
and  character,  and  in  time  was  given  in  marriage 
Cleopatra  Selene,  the  daughter  of  Anthony  and 
Cleopatra. 

Thus  fell  the  kingdom  of  ISTumidia,  and  for  a 
time  even  the  name  was  blotted  out.  The  country 
was  divided  into  two  provinces:  all  west  of  the 
Great  River,  the  Ampsaga,  was  given  to  the  kings 
of  Mauretania,  while  all  to  the  east,  though  for¬ 
mally  annexed  under  the  name  of  New  Africa,  and 
placed,  fortunately  for  us,  under  the  governor¬ 
ship  of  Sallust,*  was  formed  into  a  quasi-kingdom 
with  its  capital  at  Cirta,  and  given  to  P.  Sittius, 
who  was  thus  rewarded  for  his  timely  loyalty  to 
Caesar. 

The  indecision  and  hesitation  of  Roman  policy 
in  Africa  were  only  the  reflex  and  outcome  of  the 
uncertainty  which  reigned  in  Rome  itself  as  to 
its  own  future.  The  death-struggle  of  the  dying 

*  Sir  Lambert  Playfair  speaks  of  an  inscription,  found  in  the 
gorge  of  the  Pummel,  which  contains  the  words,  “Finis  Fundi 
Sallustiani,77  “The  Boundary  of  the  Estate  of  Sallust.77  His 
house  on  the  Quirinal  was  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  Cirta  and 
neighbouring  cities  such  as  Calama,  Thagaste,  and  Hippo. 


March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  69 

Republic  with  the  coming  Empire  gave  her  but 
little  time  or  taste  for  foreign  adventure.  When 
this  was  over,  and  the  Empire  was  firmly  estab¬ 
lished  in  the  hands  of  Augustus,  the  prudence 
and  caution  remained,  but  the  hesitation  vanished. 
In  the  division  of  territory  between  the  members 
of  the  Second  Triumvirate,  in  43  b.c.,  all  Africa 
was  assigned  to  Octavius.  True  to  the  old  princi¬ 
ple  of  using  native  rulers  so  far  as  possible,  he 
restored  for  the  moment  the  old  kingdom  of  Nu- 
midia,  giving  it  the  name  of  Numidia  Provir.cia, 
and  setting  over  it  (30  b.c.)  the  young  King  Juba 
II.  This  arrangement,  however,  did  not  last  for 
long.  Five  years  later  the  throne  of  Mauretania 
became  vacant,  and  was  given  to  Juba,  with  lol, 
an  old  Carthaginian  town  on  the  coast,  thirty  miles 
west  of  Algiers,  as  his  capital.  Here  he  built  Cae¬ 
sarea  (Cherchel),  the  only  great  Roman  city  west 
of  Cirta,  and  reigned  for  nearly  fifty  years  over 
a  kingdom  which  included  the  whole  of  Morocco 
and  the  greater  part  of  Algeria.  A  thorough  Ro¬ 
man  by  education  and  training,  a  man  of  culture 
and  intellect,  the  husband  of  one  of  the  most  no¬ 
table  women  in  the  world,  Juba  made  his  new  capi¬ 
tal  the  most  splendid  city  in  Africa,  if  second  to 
any,  second  only  to  Carthage  itself,  terrarum  de- 
cus  *  and  the  rival  in  glory  of  Imperial  Rome. 
Some  scattered  ruins  on  a  little  plain  between  the 
hills  and  the  sea  are  all  that  now  remain  of  this 
magnificence ;  but  the  beauty  of  the  statues  found 
there,  the  delicate  carving  of  the  capitals,  and  the 

*  Aur.  Victor  Caes.  19. 


70 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


lovely  pillars  which  adorned  the  Arab  mosque,* 
bear  witness  to  the  cultured  taste  of  its  founder, 
while  the  enormous  Thermas  and  the  vast  amphi¬ 
theatre  and  circus  testify  to  the  less  intellectual 
side  of  Roman  civilisation.! 

On  his  death  in  a.  d.  19  he  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Ptolemy ;  but  the  splendour  of  his  Court  in  the 
west  of  Africa  and  the  growing  importance  and 
power  of  the  Roman  Proconsul  in  the  east, 
aroused  the  jealous  fears  of  Caligula.  The  power 
of  the  latter  he  effectually  curbed  by  placing  the 
army  under  the  command  of  a  Legatus  Proprse- 
tore,  appointed  by  and  responsible  to  himself 
alone.  Ptolemy  he  summoned  to  Rome,  and  there, 
rendered  doubly  jealous  by  his  youthful  beauty, 
his  popularity,  and,  as  we  are  expressly  told,  the 
magnificence  of  his  dress,  he  murdered  him  and 
finally  annexed  his  kingdom.! 

Thus  ended  the  march  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
stopped  only,  like  the  marauding  foray  of  Sidi 

*jNTow  the  Military  Hospital. 

t  His  mausoleum  is  now  the  Kbour  Roumia. 

t  Three  portrait  busts  have  been  found  at  Cherchel,  and  are  now 
in  the  Museum  at  Algiers,  which  are  supposed  to  represent  the 
three  Jubas.  If  this  identification  be  correct,  a  comparison  be¬ 
tween  them  is  interesting. 

Juba  I.  has  a  long,  lean,  wild  face,  with  strongly-marked,  aqui¬ 
line  features,  and  a  long  beard. 

Juba  II.  is  essentially  Roman  in  appearance.  He  is  clean¬ 
shaven,  with  a  round  head,  broad  forehead,  square  chin,  bull  neck, 
and  blunt  Berber  features,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  for  the  nose 
is  missing. 

Juba  III.  (Ptolemy)  is  utterly  decadent  and  sensual.  He  has 
returned  to  the  beard,  which,  however,  is  carefully  trimmed;  the 
cheeks  are  prominent,  and  the  nose,  pinched  and  hooked,  is  sunk 
between  them;  the  mouth  is  small  and  the  lips  are  full.  There  is 
little  to  justify  the  alleged  jealousy  of  Caligula,  yet  this  is,  I 
believe,  the  best  authenticated  of  the  three  busts. 


March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  71 

Okba,  by  the  Atlantic  waves.  It  had  spread  over 
two  hundred  years.  After  the  fall  of  Carthage, 
146  b.c.,  Provincia  Africa  had  been  annexed;  after 
the  battle  of  Thapsus  46  b.c.,  Numidia;  and  now, 
on  the  death  of  Ptolemy,  a.d.  40,  Mauretania  also. 
From  the  Syrtes  to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  all 
owned  the  sway  of  Rome. 

This  gradual,  inevitable  extension  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  by  the  very  force  of  circumstances,  pre¬ 
sents  an  interesting  parallel  to  the  building  up  of 
our  own.  Judging  from  the  wide  extent  of  their 
conquests,  we  are  apt  to  think  of  the  Romans  as 
insatiable  in  their  ambition,  and  determined  to 
make  themselves  the  masters  of  the  world.  This 
was  a  kind  of  flattery  which  tickled  the  ears  of 
Emperors,  and  so  it  was  offered  them  in  abun¬ 
dance  by  Court  poets  and  other  sycophants — 

“Romanos,  Rerum  dominos,  Gentemque  togatam”;# 
and  again — 

“Tu  regere  imperio  populos,  Romane,  memento.”  f 

So  wrote  Vergil,  while  the  flattery  offered  by  Hor¬ 
ace  was  more  fulsome  because  more  personal. 

In  fact,  they  were  a  prudent,  stolid,  rather  stu¬ 
pid  people,  like  ourselves,  with  little  imagination, 
no  wild  dreams  of  empire,  and  small  liking  for 
unprofitable  adventure.  But  the  necessities  of 
trade  carried  them  far  and  wide,  one  war  led  to 
another,  a  new  province  had  to  be  conquered  to 

*  Aen.  i.  282.  t  Aen.  vi.  851. 


72 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


ensure  the  safety  of  an  old  one;  and  so  the  em¬ 
pire  was  built,  almost  against  the  will  of  the 
empire-builders. 

Then,  as  now,  public  opinion  was  divided.  There 
were  wild  Imperialists  and  timid  Little  Romans. 
When  Hannibal  was  defeated  at  Zama,  questions 
were  asked  in  the  Senate  as  to  the  value  of  Car¬ 
thage  if  they  annexed  it.  On  the  fall  of  Carthage, 
there  were  not  wanting  politicians  who  were  for 
withdrawing  the  troops  and  leaving  Africa  to  it¬ 
self.  This  was  no  mere  passing  phase  of  opinion. 
So  late  as  the  reign  of  Trajan,  serious  historians 
discussed  the  question  whether  it  would  have  been 
better  for  Rome  to  have  abstained  from  occupy¬ 
ing  Africa,  or  even  Sicily,  and  to  have  contented 
herself  with  Italy  only.  But,  for  good  or  evil,  per¬ 
haps  for  both,  world  history  is  not  made  like  this, 
and  nations,  like  men,  sometimes  have  greatness 
thrust  upon  them.  The  advance  of  the  Roman 
arms  was  embarrassed,  delayed,  thwarted  by  such 
counsels  as  these,  but  not  stopped ;  hopeless  strug¬ 
gles  for  liberty  were  encouraged,  much  blood  was 
shed,  and  bitter  ill-will  engendered  and  kept  alive, 
but  the  end  was  inevitable,  and  it  came,  bringing 
with  it  to  Africa  two  centuries  of  such  prosperity 
as  she  has  never  known,  before  or  since,  safe  un¬ 
der  the  8Bgis  of  the  Immensa  Romance  Pads  Ma- 
jestas . 

But  it  was  not  enough  to  annex  North  Africa; 
it  had  to  be  garrisoned  also. 

The  nucleus  or  unit  of  the  Roman  army  of  occu¬ 
pation  was  the  Legion,  which  corresponded  more 


March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  73 

closely  with  our  division,  or  even  army  corps,  than 
with  the  regiment.  The  legion  was  territorial  in 
the  sense  that  it  was  raised  and  recruited  in  some 
one  part  of  the  Empire,  but  the  duties  assigned  to 
it  were  usually  in  some  far  distant  province,  and 
from  this  it  was  never  moved.  The  saying  of  Sen¬ 
eca,  Ubicunque  Romanics  vicit  habitat *  “Wher¬ 
ever  the  Roman  has  conquered  he  settles,’ ’  was  in 
a  special  sense  true  of  the  soldier.  Veterans,  when 
their  time  of  service  with  the  standards  was  over, 
did  not  return  home.  The  Senate  planted  them 
somewhere  as  a  colony,  for  every  legionary  was, 
ipso  facto ,  a  Roman  citizen;  it  provided  them  with 
land,  slaves,  and  oxen;  it  exempted  them  from 
taxation,  and  in  return,  retained  some  claim  upon 
their  services  for  purposes  of  defence  or  police. 
There  they  married  and  settled.  The  wisdom  of 
this  policy  is  obvious.  The  men  were  provided 
for,  and  every  settlement  became  a  semi-military 
centre  of  loyalty  to  Rome.  Traces  of  these  colo¬ 
nies  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  North  Africa. 
Thamugadi  (Timgad)  was  built,  at  the  command 
of  Trajan,  for  the  veterans  of  the  XXX.  Legio 
Ulpia  Victrix,  as  a  reward  for  their  services  on 
his  Parthian  campaign;  the  soldiers  of  Marius 
found  a  home  at  Uci  Majus  (ed-Douemis)  on  the 
Medjerba;  others  were  established  by  Augustus 
at  Saldae  (Bougie),  others  at  Ammcedara  (Hai- 
dra),  and  yet  others  by  Nerva,  at  Sitifis  (Setif). 

The  task  of  holding  North  Africa,  and  espe¬ 
cially  of  guarding  the  passes  which  led  through  the 

*  Cons,  ad  Helv.  7. 


74 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


Aures  Mountains  from  the  Tell  to  the  Sahara, 
was  entrusted  by  Augustus  to  the  III.  Legio  An- 
gusta.  It  had  been  raised  in  the  eastern  provinces 
of  the  Empire,  and  strengthened  with  some  co¬ 
horts  of  Commagenians  from  the  army  of  Anti- 
ochus.  ’  It  was  now  stationed  in  the  west  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  policy  already  noticed.  It  took 
up  its  work  in  North  Africa  at  the  very  beginning 
of  our  era,  and  remained  there  long  enough  to 
play  its  part  in  the  rebellion  of  the  Gordians,  a.d. 
238,  and  to  carry  out  the  execution  of  Cyprian 
twenty  years  later. 

But  a  single  legion  of  six  thousand  men  was 
manifestly  inadequate  to  a  task  which,  difficult  at 
first  when  the  Roman  territory  was  but  small,  be¬ 
came  overwhelming  as  by  degrees  Rome  extended 
her  dominions  farther  and  farther  to  the  west; 
and  so  round  the  legion  there  was  collected  a  na¬ 
tive  army  of  auxiliary  forces.  The  natives  all 
round  formed  splendid  material  for  soldiers ;  the 
Romans  had  learned  to  respect  their  prowess  as 
enemies,  now  they  enrolled  them  as  comrades. 
Some  were  formed  into  alee  of  cavalry,  some  into 
cohorts,  officered  by  Romans;  some  took  their 
names  from  the  weapons  they  used,  Sagittarii,  or 
Archers ;  Funditores,  or  Slingers ;  some  from  their 
nationality ;  thus  the  important  pass  Calceus  Her- 
culis  (El  Kantara)  was  manned  by  a  force  from 
Palmyra,  coming,  that  is,  from  the  same  part  of 
the  Empire  as  the  legionaries  themselves. 

Even  when  thus  strengthened  by  these  native 
troops,  the  standing  army  of  Rome  was  never  very 


March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  75 

large,  considering  the  work  it  had  to  do.  At  the 
death  of  Augustus  there  were  only  twenty-five  le¬ 
gions;  under  Vespasian^  thirty;  under  Septimius 
Severus,  thirty-three — that  is,  about  two  hundred 
thousand  men  of  all  branches.  It  was  clearly  im¬ 
possible  to  spare  more  than  one  legion  for  North 
Africa,  though  at  times  of  pressure  others  might 
be  sent  for  some  particular  piece  of  work.#  The 
legion  was,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  held  in 
reserve,  the  ordinary  work  being  done  by  the  na¬ 
tive  forces ;  these  were  in  this  way  kept  busy  and 
loyal,  and,  as  they  had  the  pick  of  the  fighting, 
they  were  happy. 

To  the  south  of  the  Eoman  provinces  of  Africa 
and  Numidia  runs  the  great  range  of  Mons  Au¬ 
ra  sius — the  Aures  Mountains.  Here  the  legion  be¬ 
gan  its  work  by  closing  the  easy  passes  which 
led  down  from  the  high  plateaus  to  the  level  plains 
of  South  Tunisia.  For  this  purpose  they  built  at 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  range  the  strong  for¬ 
tress  town  of  Theveste  (Tebessa)  on  the  site  of 
an  old  Libyan  stronghold  which  had  been  cap¬ 
tured  by  Carthage  just  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  First  Punic  War.  It  was  rebuilt  and  fortified 
by  the  Byzantine  general,  Solomon,  in  a.d.  535, 
and  is  now  strongly  held  by  the  French.  Here 
the  legion  was  stationed  for  nearly  a  century. 
Then  their  headquarters  were  moved  by  Trajan 
from  the  eastern  end  of  the  Aures  to  the  western, 

*  Thus,  on  the  pass  of  Kunga,  an  inscription  has  been  found 
relating  how  the  road  was  made  by  the  Sixth  Legion,  in  the 
reign  of  Antoninus  Pius. 


76  Studies  in  North  Africa 

from  Theveste  to  Lambaesis,  to  block  tbe  way  of 
tbe  Nomad  marauders  from  the  Oases  of  the  Ziban 
into  the  fertile  Roman  territory.  Between  the  two 
they  built  and  fortified  Mascula  (Khenchela). 

The  great  western  gate  of  the  desert,  the 
“Foum  es  Sahara, 99  the  Mouth  of  the  Desert,  as 
the  Arabs  still  call  it,  was  the  gorge  “Calceus 
Herculis,”  cloven  through  the  mountains  by  the 
heel  of  Hercules,  according  to  the  Romans,  or  by 
the  sword  of  Sidi  Abdullah,  according  to  the  later 
Moslem  fable.  It  takes  the  modern  name  of  El 
Kantara  from  the  Roman  bridge  which  spanned 
the  Oued  Ksour,  or  Kantara.  The  beauties  of 
this  wonderful  gorge  have  often  been  described. 
So  narrow  that  the  Roman  bridge  had  but  one 
arch,  it  leads  us  down  in  less  than  half  a  mile 
from  the  cold,  grey,  rocky  plain  to  the  hot  sands 
of  the  Sahara.  In  a  few  minutes  we  pass  through 
a  chaos  of  crags  and  precipices,  from  winter  to 
summer,  from  grey  to  gold,  from  a  treeless  waste 
to  the  waving  palms  of  the  Oases  of  the  Ziban.* 

The  first  work  of  the  legion  at  its  new  station 
was  to  form  a  temporary  camp,  the  remains  of 
which  can  still  be  traced.  It  then  proceeded  to 
erect  the  great  permanent  camp  of  Lambaesis 
(Lambessa),  which  is  to-day  the  most  perfect  ex¬ 
ample  of  a  Roman  camp  of  the  first  class  that 
remains  to  us.  Between  the  construction  of  these 

*  Later  on,  the  outlet  into  El  Outaya,  the  Great  Plain,  was 
closed  by  a  fort,  Burgum  Commodianum,  built  by  Marcus  An- 
tonius  Gordianus;  farther  still  to  the  south-east  lay  Vescera,  or 
Bescera  (Biskra),  with  a  suburb,  Ad  Piscinum,  at  the  hot  springs, 
now  known  as  Haramam-es-Salahin,  the  Holy  Baths. 


March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  77 

two  camps — that  is,  about  the  years  Am.  100-110, 
the  legion  was  employed  in  the  building  of  the 
town  of  Thamugadi  (Timgad).* 

A  drive  of  about  eight  miles  across  a  level 
windy  plain,  along  a  straight  military  road, 
planted  on  each  side  with  trees,  brings  us  from 
the  French  garrison  town  of  Batna  to  the  Peni¬ 
tentiary,  built  by  Napoleon  III.  for  political  pris¬ 
oners,  which  now,  with  its  garden,  covers  all  the 
south-east  quarter  of  the  great  camp.  The  plain 
lies  at  a  level  of  three  thousand  sis  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea ;  to  the  south,  the  Aures  range  shel¬ 
ters  it  from  the  parching  winds  of  the  Sahara, 
and  it  is  sufficiently  watered  by  snow  and  rain,  as 
well  as  by  the  streams  which  run  among  the  hills. 
Doubtless  it  was  once  a  district  of  extreme  fer¬ 
tility,  and  bids  fair  to  be  so  once  again  under  the 
skilful  husbandry  of  the  French. 

To  our  right,  as  we  approach  the  Penitentiary, 
lie  the  meagre  vestiges  of  the  first  camp ;  to  our 
left,  the  very  important  ruins  of  the  second. 

A  tower  stood  at  each  of  the  four  angles  of  the 
camp;  each  of  the  longer  curtain  walls  was  fur¬ 
ther  strengthened  with  five  similar  towers,  each 
of  the  shorter  with  four.  These  all  projected  in¬ 
wards,!  so  that  the  external  face  of  the  walls  was 
unbroken,  save  by  the  flanking  towers  which  pro¬ 
tected  the  gates.  Inside  the  walls  ran  the  Pom- 
cerium  or  broad  Boulevard.  The  gates  were  four 

*  This  seems  the  most  probable  order.  Possibly,  however,  Lam- 
baesis  was  built  before  Thamugadi. 

t  This  distinguishes  Eoman  from  Byzantine  work.  In  the  latter 
the  towers  project  outwards. 


78  Studies  in  North  Africa 

in  number,  one  in  each  of  the  walls.  Those  facing 
north  and  south  occupied  the  centre  of  the  walls. 
Those  to  the  east  and  west  lay  much  to  the  north 
of  the  central  point,  so  that  the  road  which  con¬ 
nected  them  ran  along  the  northern  side  of  the 
Pretorium,  the  great  parade  ground  which  oc¬ 
cupied  the  centre  of  the  camp.  This  road,  called 
the  Decumanus  Maximus,  was  a  broad,  finely 
paved  street,  lined  on  each  side  with  porticoes, 
and  was  the  only  thoroughfare  through  the  camp. 

The  principal  entrance  was  by  the  north  gate. 
From  this  gate  to  the  Decumanus  Maximus,  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  about  one  hundred  and  forty  yards,  ran 
the  Cardo,  another  paved  and  porticoed  street. 
Over  the  intersection  of  these  roads  stood  a  mag¬ 
nificent  triumphal  arch,  usually,  but  wrongly, 
called  the  Pretorium,  of  which  it  was,  in  fact,  only 
the  gateway.  This  wonderful  arch  stands  almost 
uninjured.  To  the  north  and  south  it  had  three 
openings,  to  the  east  and  west  four.  Each  face 
was  adorned  with  Corinthian  columns  carrying  a 
pediment,  but  these  have  been  destroyed.  Ex¬ 
ternally  it  gives  the  impression  of  having  been 
two  storeys  in  height,  for  over  the  central  arch 
in  each  face  is  a  large  opening  like  a  window ;  but 
internally  there  is  no  trace  of  a  floor;  neither, 
although  there  are  vaulting  shafts,  is  there  any 
trace  of  a  vault.  Probably  it  had  a  wooden  roof 
which  has  perished;  possibly  it  was  open  to  the 
sky. 

Through  this  arch  we  pass  into  the  Pretorium 
proper,  the  most  important  and  interesting  part 


'X 


PRETORIUM  AT  LAMBESSA 


March  of  Empire,  146  B.C.-A.D.  40  79 

of  the  camp.  This  was  an  enormous  court  or 
parade  ground,  paved,  and  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  a  colonnade.  On  to  this  colonnade  opened 
a  series  of  chambers  which  are  shown  by  inscrip¬ 
tions,  stones  for  projectiles,  and  other  remains 
found  in  them,  to  have  been  magazines  and  offices 
of  the  headquarter  staff. 

Beyond  this  courtyard,  on  the  side  opposite  the 
triumphal  arch,  two  lateral  stairs  led  to  a  second 
court  on  a  higher  level,  of  the  same  length  as  the 
first,  but  so  narrow  as  to  be  little  more  than  a 
terrace  or  vaulted  antechamber  to  the  buildings 
which  opened  on  to  it. 

In  the  centre,  larger,  higher,  and  more  ornate 
than  the  others,  stood  an  apsidal  chamber,  or 
chapel,  resting  upon  a  crypt  divided  into  five 
vaults ;  in  the  middle  stood  an  altar.  This  was  the 
garrison  church,  in  which  were  guarded  the  con¬ 
secrated  colours,  the  eagles,  and  other  insignia 
of  the  legion.*  The  undercroft,  which  in  some  de¬ 
gree  shared  its  sanctity,  was  probably  the  military 
treasury.  To  the  right  lay  the  cornicnbium ,  to 
the  left  the  orderly  room  of  the  equites;  another 
chamber  was  the  tabularium  where  the  records 
and  archives  were  stored.  Others  were  meeting- 
places  for  the  clubs  formed  by  the  optiones  and 
other  inferior  officers  of  the  legion. 

To  the  south-east  lay  the  Thermae.  The  south¬ 
west  quarter  is  covered  with  the  buildings  and 
garden  of  the  House  of  Correction ;  this  part  has 

*  There  was  no  other  temple  within  the  camp,  just  as,  at 
Timgad,  there  was  only  one,  in  the  Forum. 


8o 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


not  been  thoroughly  examined,  but  the  beanty  of 
the  mosaic  floors  which  have  been  found  proves 
that  it  was  covered  with  buildings  of  importance, 
possibly  the  quarters  of  the  commanding  officer. 
The  rest  of  the  camp  was  occupied  with  the  or¬ 
dinary  buildings  necessary  in  a  great  barrack; 
quarters  for  the  men,  stables  for  the  horses, 
guard-rooms,  sheds  for  the  chariots  and  military 
engines,  stores  for  ammunition  for  the  catapults, 
and  other  buildings  the  purpose  of  which  cannot 
now  be  determined. 

Such  was  a  permanent  Roman  camp  in  the  first 
century  of  our  era. 

Rut  such  a  camp  could  not  long  stand  alone. 
Soon,  naturally  and  inevitably,  it  became  the 
centre  of  a  considerable  population.  First  there 
gathered,  as  near  as  military  considerations  per¬ 
mitted,  merchants,  contractors,  camp  followers, 
and  so  on,  who  supplied  the  needs  of  the  troops. 
Then  the  soldiers  were  permitted  to  marry,  and 
houses  were  required  for  their  wives  and  families. 
Then,  when  peace  was  more  assured,  Septimus 
Severus  gave  the  married  men  permission  to  live 
with  their  families  outside  the  camp;  at  last  it 
would  seem  that  the  camp  was  used  for  military 
purposes  only,  and  was  left  untenanted,  save  by 
the  necessary  guards. 

And  so,  by  the  side  of  the  camp,  there  grew  up 
by  degrees  a  great  Roman  town,  with  all  that  such 
a  town  needed  to  make  it  beautiful  and  happy.  A 
triumphal  arch  to  Commodus  spanned  the  road 
to  Timgad,  and  another,  of  three  bays,  to  Septi- 


March  of  Empire,  146  b.c.-a.d.  40  81 

mus  Severus,  testified  to  the  loyalty  of  the  legion- 
aries  to  the  Berber  Emperor.  An  aqueduct 
brought  the  waters  of  the  Ain  Drinn  to  the  spa¬ 
cious  Thermae;  a  theatre  and  amphitheatre  sup¬ 
plied  amusements;  a  Forum  for  business  and 
pleasure,  temples  for  worship  and  the  town  was 
complete. 

Of  the  temples,  the  most  important,  here  as  else¬ 
where,  was  the  Capitol,  dedicated  to  the  three 
supreme  gods  of  Borne — Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Mi¬ 
nerva — whose  vast  temple  looked  down  from  the 
Capitoline  Hill  at  Borne  on  to  the  busy  Forum  and 
stately  Palatine.  It  bore  testimony  to  all  the 
world  that  here,  on  the  extreme  frontier  of  the 
Empire,  Lambaesis  was  heart  and  soul  Boman 
still;  for  with  Borne  then,  as  with  England  now, 
devotion  to  the  Mother  Country  increased  with 
distance  from  it,  and  the  flame  of  patriotism, 
which  burnt  very  dimly  at  home,  blazed  up  in 
the  distant  colonies. 

The  Capitol  of  Lambaesis  stood  in  the  midst  of  a 
porticoed  enclosure.  In  front,  as  at  Borne,  there 
were  eight  pillars.  The  Celia,  which  was  seventy 
feet  wide  by  thirty-four  feet  deep,  was  divided  by 
a  partition  wall  with  two  arches,  into  two  cham¬ 
bers;  at  the  end  of  each  was  a  square  niche  for 
a  statue — a  most  unusual  arrangement,  which 
makes  it  hard  to  understand  how  the  images  of 
the  three  divinities  were  distributed. 

Another  temple,  to  TEsculapius,  requires  notice 
for  the  strangeness  of  its  plan.  The  actual  sanc¬ 
tuary,  which  held  the  statue  of  the  god  and  of  his 


82 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


companion  Hygeia,  stood,  like  the  Temples  of 
Coelestis  at  Dougga  and  elsewhere,  in  the  middle 
of  a  semicircular  portico  flanked  by  chapels  dedi¬ 
cated  to  Jupiter  Yalens  and  Silvanus,  while 
a  series  of  little  shrines  of  different  deities  lined 
the  north  side  of  the  avenue  which  led  to  the  great 
temple.  The  mosaic  floor  of  the  second  from  the 
Temple  bore  the  legend: 

“BONUS  INTRA  MELIOR  EXI.” 

The  general  arrangements  seem  to  connect  the 
temple  with  Libyan  worship  rather  than  with  Ro¬ 
man,  but  Eschmoun,  with  whom  iEsculapius  was 
identified,  was  a  Phoenician,  not  a  Libyan,  god,  and 
the  presence  of  the  other  gods  mentioned  above, 
and  the  fact  that  the  temple  was  built  over  some 
hot  springs,  seem  to  point  to  a  Roman  worship  of 
the  god  of  healing. 

There  were  another  temple  and  two  more  tri¬ 
umphal  arches,  one  over  the  road  to  Yerecunda 
(Marcouna),  but  their  dedication  is  uncertain.  At 
Yerecunda,  which  was  a  sort  of  suburb  of  Lam¬ 
bic  sis,  there  was  another  arch  to  Marcus  Aurelius. 

Such,  with  its  dependencies,  was  Lambaesis,  the 
bridle  of  the  marauding  tribes  of  the  Saharas,  as 
Stirling  was  of  the  turbulent  Highlanders. 


TEMPLE  OF  CCELESTIS,  DOUGGA 


CHAPTER  Y 


A  FRONTIER  TOWN 

A  cold,  for  the  road  lies  nearly  four  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  somewhat  dreary  drive  of 
nearly  twenty  miles  brings  us,  through  the  fold¬ 
ing  hills  of  the  treeless  and  half-desert  plateau, 
to  the  Roman  colony  of  Thamugadi  (Timgad). 

The  town  did  not  grow  by  degrees  and  at  hap¬ 
hazard,  as  most  towns  do.  It  sprang  into  being  all 
at  once,  like  Minerva,  equipped  and  armed,  and 
bears  upon  the  surface  evident  traces  of  its  origin. 
In  the  year  a.d.  100,  Trajan,  wishing  to  reward 
the  Legio  Ulpia  Yictrix  for  its  services  in  his  Par¬ 
thian  campaign,  determined  to  establish  a  settle¬ 
ment  of  veterans  here,  and  entrusted  the  work 
of  preparing  a  home  for  them  to  the  Third  Legion 
at  Lambassis,  and  its  commander,  the  Imperial 
Legate  and  Propraetor,  L.  Mutatius  Callus.  How 
well  the  work  was  done  the  noble  remains  still 
testify. 

It  is  usual  to  describe  Timgad  as  an  African 
Pompeii.  Both  are  ruined  towns,  partly  ex¬ 
cavated,  but  beyond  that  the  comparison  does  not 
take  us  far.  Fortunate  in  its  misfortune,  Pom¬ 
peii  has  the  romance  of  the  awful  catastrophe 
which  destroyed  it,  and  the  beauty  of  its  matchless 
position  between  the  purple  sea  and  the  vine-clad 
slopes  of  its  terrible  neighbour,  Vesuvius;  Timgad 

83 


84  Studies  in  North  Africa 

stands  lonely  and  desolate  in  its  austere  sur¬ 
roundings  of  treeless  mountain  and  desert  plain. 
Pompeii  was  a  watering-place  for  wealthy  idlers, 
Timgad,  one  of  the  outpost  fortresses  of  the  Em¬ 
pire;  and  so,  in  place  of  the  large,  luxurious 
houses  of  Pompeii,  with  their  gardens  and  peri¬ 
styles,  the  houses  of  Timgad,  or,  at  any  rate,  those 
within  the  walls  of  the  city  proper,  are  small, 
compact,  and  cramped.  In  the  one  place  all  speaks 
of  pleasure,  in  the  other  of  stern  defence. 

Fortunately  the  town  has  never  been  used  as  a 
quarry  by  later  builders.  It  survived  the  Vandal 
invasion  almost  uninjured,  for  its  walls  had  been 
removed  long  before,  and  the  conquerors  did  not, 
as  a  rule,  injure  the  towns  themselves.  On  the 
approach  of  the  Byzantines,  in  a.d.  535,  the  natives 
from  the  mountains  hastily  burnt  and  wrecked  it, 
to  deter  the  enemy  from  settling  there.  Solomon, 
however,  built  a  great  fortress  on  the  south  slope 
of  the  hill  on  which  the  city  is  built,  and  the  in¬ 
habitants  seem  to  have  crept  back.  The  Arab  in¬ 
vaders  never  settled  near  the  spot,  and  so  the 
town  remains  pretty  much  as  Solomon  found  it — 
the  roofs  burnt,  pillars  and  walls  thrown  down,  but 
the  stones  left  lying  where  they  fell,  covered  and 
preserved  rather  than  injured  by  the  drifting 
sand,  and  waiting  only  to  be  unearthed  and  raised 
into  their  places  again.* 

The  site  chosen  by  Gallus  for  the  new  colony  was 
on  the  north  slope  of  a  rather  steep  hill,  inter¬ 
sected  by  a  little  stream,  and  commanding  the  en- 

*  This  is  being  done  by  the  French  rapidly  and  with  rare  skill. 


A  Frontier  Town 


85 

trance  to  the  gorges  by  the  Gued  Abdi  and  the 
Oned  el  Abiod.  Built  by  soldiers  for  soldiers  and 
for  a  semi-military  purpose,  it  is  natural  that  in 
general  plan  it  should  resemble  a  camp,  and  much 
that  has  been  said  of  Lambagsis  applies  to  Thamu- 
gadi,  except  that  the  place  of  the  Pretorium,  in 
the  centre  of  the  camp,  is  here  occupied  by  the 
Forum  and  theatre. 

As  originally  designed,  the  town  was  an  almost 
perfect  square ;  its  sides  measured  three  hundred 
and  seventy  yards  by  three  hundred  and  forty,  and 
faced  the  four  points  of  the  compass.  No  traces 
of  the  original  walls  remain;  only  the  gates  and 
the  broad  boulevard  or  Pomcerium  which  sur¬ 
rounded  the  town  on  both  sides  of  the  walls,  mark 
where  they  stood. 

The  gates  were  four  in  number.  The  principal, 
to  the  north,  opened  upon  the  Cardo,  which  led 
direct  to  the  Forum,  where  it  stopped  short,  or, 
more  precisely,  was  deflected  much  to  the  right. 
From  the  east  gate  to  the  west  ran  the  only  thor¬ 
oughfare,  along  which  passed  the  great  military 
high  road  from  Lambessis  to  Maxula  (Khenchela) 
and  Theveste  (Tebessa) ;  this  was  the  Decumanus 
Maximus.  It  was  a  broad  paved  road,  lined  on 
each  side  with  porticoed  footpaths ;  its  great  pav¬ 
ing-stones  were,  as  usual,  laid  aslant,  not  at  right 
angles  to  the  paths,  to  prevent  the  chariot-wheels 
from  cutting  into  the  crevices  between  the  stones ; 
in  spite  of  this  precaution,  it  is  deeply  rutted,  like 
the  streets  at  Pompeii,  the  gauge  of  the  vehicles 
being  the  same  in  each  case. 


86 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


In  addition  to  these  main  roads,  the  town,  ex- 
cept  where  the  arrangement  was  interrupted  by 
the  Forum  and  theatre,  was  divided  into  identical 
squares,  or  insulse,  by  eighteen  other  parallel 
streets,  nine  running  in  each  direction. 

The  entire  town,  including  the  suburbs  outside 
the  walls,  covered  an  area  of  about  150  acres;  of 
these  about  30  have  been  excavated. 

Outside  the  north  gate,  which  is  still  the  princi¬ 
pal  entrance,  lie  the  most  important  baths  or 
thermae,  large,  handsome,  and  complete,  built  with 
the  same  precise  symmetry,  and  almost  on  the 
same  plan  as  those  of  Caracalla  at  Rome.  Just 
inside  the  gate  stands,  to  the  right,  a  fountain 
which  has  been  completely  restored,  and,  to  the 
left  a  little  Berber  Church.  Higher  up,  to  the 
right,  a  larger  Basilica  with  atrium  and  Bap¬ 
tistery.  Higher  still,  on  the  left  hand,  we  come 
to  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  build¬ 
ings  in  the  town.  A  graceful  pillared  portico 
opens  into  a  semicircular  shrine  with  niches  for 
statues.  The  purpose  is  uncertain;  perhaps  it 
was  a  Schola,  perhaps  a  library;  more  probably 
it  was  the  Lararium  Publicum,  the  Temple  of  the 
Lares,  or  household  gods,  of  the  city.  If  this  is 
correct,  the  central  niche  held  a  shrine  of  the 
Genius  Augustus,  the  Emperor  being  represented 
with  his  toga  drawn  over  his  head,  offering  an  ob¬ 
lation  ;  to  his  right  and  left  stood  the  Lares  of  the 
city,  in  other  niches,  probably  Ceres  and  Venus. 
This  building  was  not  a  part  of  the  original  plan, 
for  it  cuts  into  the  adjoining  roads. 


.  - 


A  Frontier  Town 


87 

Where  the  Cardo  meets  the  De  cum  arms  Maxi¬ 
mus,  a  flight  of  marble  steps  and  a  portico  lead 
into  the  F orum.  This  is  a  paved  court,  fifty  yards 
long  by  forty-four  wide,  surrounded  on  three  sides 
by  a  colonnade  lined  with  shops.  Standing  be¬ 
tween  the  columns  and  encroaching  on  the  space 
of  the  court,  stood  a  vast  assemblage  of  statues 
of  gods,  including,  of  course,  Marsyas  with  his 
wine-skin,  emperors,  local  celebrities  and  benefac¬ 
tors.  At  the  east  end  lay  the  basilica,  a  fine  hall 
of  the  ordinary  shape — that  is,  square  at  one  end, 
with  an  apse  at  the  other.  An  unusual  feature  is 
that  the  tribunal,  with  seats  for  the  judges,  was 
at  the  square  end.  In  the  niche  opposite  stood  a 
statue,  undoubtedly  of  Trajan. 

The  west  end  is  the  most  varied  and  interesting. 
In  the  middle,  interrupting  the  line  of  the  cloister, 
stood  a  little  AEdicula  or  shrine,  like  that  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Atrium  Vestse  at  Rome.  The  in¬ 
scription  tells  us  that  it  was  erected  to  Fortuna 
Augusta  by  two  sisters  in  accordance  with  the  will 
of  their  father.  To  the  south  stood  the  Rostra, 
and,  behind  them,  a  little  tetrastyle  temple,  prob¬ 
ably  to  Victory;  in  front  of  it  stood  two  statues 
erected  by  a  soldier  of  the  Third  Legion  to  com¬ 
memorate  the  Parthian  Victory  of  Trajan,  Victoria 
Partliica  Augusta  Sacrum .  By  the  side  of  the 
temple  was  a  little  waiting-room  for  the  use  of 
the  orators. 

In  the  south  of  the  temple  lay  the  Curia,  a  beau¬ 
tiful  hall  adorned  with  marbles  and  mosaics;  at¬ 
tached  to  this  were  a  guard-room  and  prison  cells. 


88 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


The  south  side  of  the  Forum  was  occupied  with 
shops,  and  a  flight  of  steps  leading  up  to  the 
theatre. 

On  the  pavement  of  the  Forum,  amongst  a  num¬ 
ber  of  tabula  lusorice,  or  little  gaming-tables, 
which  remind  us  of  the  Basilica  Julia  at  Borne, 
is  a  curious  inscription : 


LAYARI 

RIDERE 

VITA 


YENARI 
LUDERE 
OCCE  EST 


“Hunting,  bathing,  gambling,  laughing — this  is 
life.”  A  variation  of  the  old  epitaph — 


CORPORA  CORRUMPUNT 
BALNEUM  YINUM  YENUS 
SED  YITAM  FACIUNT 


‘  6  The  bath,  wine,  love,  destroy  the  body,  but  make 
life  worth  living.” 

Above  the  Forum  lies  the  theatre,  the  Audi¬ 
torium,  as  usual,  when  practicable,  being  hollowed 
out  of  the  crest  of  the  hill.  The  seats  had  been 
displaced  and  the  pillars  had  fallen,  but  these  have 
been  restored,  and  it  is  now,  with  the  exception 
of  that  at  Dougga,  the  handsomest  and  most  com¬ 
plete  theatre  in  North  Africa.  Enough  will  be 
said  on  this  subject  elsewhere. 

To  the  east  of  the  Forum,  in  the  Decumanus, 
lies  a  graceful  little  market.  From  the  street- 
portico  an  apse  opens  into  a  court,  the  far  side 
of  which  is  formed  by  two  semicircular  arcades, 
each  divided  into  five  stalls  or  shops.  The  front 
of  each  of  these  is  closed  by  a  stone  slab  or  table. 


A  Frontier  Town 


89 

under  or  over  which  the  merchant  had  to  climb. 
The  point  where  the  two  arcades  meet,  opposite 
the  entrance,  was  occupied  by  an  altar;  in  the 
court  itself  were  two  semicircular  basins,  either 
fountains  or  flower-beds. 

Adjoining  the  market  are  some  small  Thermse 
and  a  tiny  basilica.  Other  Thermae  stand  lower 
down  the  street  near  the  east  gate. 

Over  the  Decumanus,  where  it  enters  the  city 
on  the  west,  rises  the  magnificent  arch  called  the 
Arch  of  Trajan.  It  received  its  name  from  some 
inscriptions  which  have  been  found  near  it ;  judg¬ 
ing,  however,  from  the  architecture,  it  was  prob¬ 
ably  not  erected  until  about  a.d.  200.  It  has  three 
openings,  like  that  of  Constantine  at  Rome.  The 
small  lateral  arches  are  surmounted  by  square- 
headed  niches  for  statues.  In  front  stood  four 
Corinthian  columns  resting  upon  lofty  bases. 
They  rose  to  the  height  of  the  central  arch  and 
carried  a  bold  cornice,  which,  running  in  a  straight 
line  over  the  main  entrance,  bent  into  graceful 
curves  over  the  lateral  niches.  The  attic  has  van¬ 
ished. 

With  the  exception  of  that  at  Tebessa,  it  is  the 
most  perfect  and  beautiful  of  all  the  countless  tri¬ 
umphal  arches  of  North  Africa. 

Outside  the  arch,  to  the  right,  lay  the  temple  of 
the  genius  of  the  colony.  4  6  Genio  Coloniae 
Thamug,”  so  runs  the  inscription  on  an  altar. 

Three  flights  of  steps  led  from  the  street  into 
the  very  irregularly  shaped  court  of  the  temple. 
Round  it  was  a  colonnade  containing  a  number  of 


90  Studies  in  North  Africa 

statues  of  gods :  Jupiter,  Juno,  Minerva,  Bacchus, 
Mars,  Liber  Pater,  Silvanus,  Deus  Patrius,  and 
others.  In  the  centre  stood  the  altar ;  behind  this, 
raised  upon  a  lofty  podium,  was  the  Celia,  which 
has  perished;  four  of  the  columns  of  its  porch 
have,  however,  been  re-erected. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  road  lay  the  great 
market.  This,  as  numerous  inscriptions  tell  us, 
was  the  gift  of  Marcus  Plotius  Faustus,  surnamed 
Sertius — a  Roman  knight,  an  officer  of  the  auxili¬ 
ary  troops,  a  Priest  of  Rome,  and  Flamen  of  the 
Emperor — and  of  his  wife,  Cornelia  Valentina 
Tucciana.  It  was  a  large,  handsome  court,  sur¬ 
rounded  as  usual  by  a  colonnade.  In  the  centre 
was  a  fountain ;  at  the  north  end  stood  six  shops. 
At  the  opposite  end  two  steps  led  up  into  a  great 
apse  like  the  tribunal  of  a  basilica;  round  this, 
spreading  out  like  a  fan,  were  seven  shops,  each 
closed  by  a  big  stone  counter  like  those  of  the  east¬ 
ern  market.  Close  by  was  another,  the  cloth  mar¬ 
ket,  Forum  Vesticirium,  and  some  more  Thermae. 

Higher  up  still,  and  dominating  the  city  from 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  rose  the  huge  mass  of  the 
magnificent  Capitol.  We  enter  it  by  a  vast  porch, 
erected,  after  the  destruction  of  the  old  one,  by 
Publilius  Ceironius  Caecina  Julianus,  a  man  of 
senatorial  rank  and  governor  of  the  province  of 
Numidia.  The  other  three  porticoes  which  sur¬ 
rounded  the  court  of  the  temple  and  were  erected 
at  the  same  time,  have  fallen.  The  work  is  late 
and  bad.  The  court  itself  measures  nearly  one 
hundred  yards  by  seventy,  and  is  barbarously 


A  Frontier  Town 


91 


paved  with  carved  and  inscribed  pieces  of  friezes 
and  architraves  and  other  fragments.  In  the 
centre  stood  an  immense  altar;  beyond  it,  at  the 
top  of  a  flight  of  thirty  steps,  rose  the  temple 
itself.  Its  proportions,  though  not  to  he  compared 
with  those  of  the  temple  at  Grirgenti,  where  a  man 
can  stand  in  one  of  the  flutings  of  the  columns,  are 
considerable.  Technically,  the  temple  is  what  is 
called  hexastyle  peripteral  stylobate — that  is, 
there  were  six  columns  in  front,  and  a  complete 
colonnade  of  similar  detached  columns  ran  round 
the  building,  which  stood  upon  a  platform  or 
podium.  Each  column  was  forty  feet  high,  the 
capital  adding  another  six  feet ;  they  are  therefore 
about  the  same  size  as  those  of  the  Templum  Cas- 
torum  in  the  Forum  at  Rome.  The  Celia  of  the 
temple  had  three  niches  for  the  great  Roman 
triad,  or  else  was  divided  into  three  chambers. 
The  central  statue  of  Jupiter  w^as  twenty- three 
feet  high.  This  statue,  which  is  now  in  the 
Louvre,  was  seated;  the  other  two — that  of  Juno 
to  his  right,  and  Minerva  to  his  left — were 
standing. 

One  of  the  smallest,  and  certainly  the  loveliest, 
of  these  temples  is  at  Thugga  (Dougga).  The  in¬ 
evitable  inscription  informs  us  that  it  was  built 
in  honour  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus,  Juno  Re¬ 
gina,  and  Minerva  Augusta,  by  two  brothers,  Lu¬ 
cius  Marcius  Simplex  and  Lucius  Marcius  Sim¬ 
plex  Regillanus,  in  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius 
and  Lucius  Verus.  In  the  centre  of  the  pediment, 
which  rests  on  four  columns,  is  a  curious  carving 


92 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


of  an  eagle  carrying  a  man  np  to  heaven,  probably 
an  imperial  apotheosis.  Standing  at  the  top  of 
the  almost  precipitous  hill  on  which  the  city  is 
bnilt,  and  silhouetted  against  the  sky,  this  little 
temple  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  ruin  in 
Africa. 

‘  ‘  Minerva  Augustse.  ’ ’  This  epithet  of  ‘  ‘  Augus¬ 
tus ??  is  very  commonly  applied  not  only  to  em¬ 
perors,  but  also  to  deities  and  to  those  personi¬ 
fied  virtues  to  which,  or  to  whom,  the  Romans 
were  fond  of  dedicating  temples  ever  since  the 
day  when,  in  354  b.c.,  Atilius  Calatinus  dedicated 
the  Temple  of  Hope,  the  ruins  of  which  now  lie 
under  the  Church  of  S.  Nicolo  in  Carcere  at  Home. 

At  Dougga  the  neighbouring  temple  is  dedicated 
to  “Ccelesti  Aug./’  another  is  to  “Pietati  Augus¬ 
tse,  ’  ’  another  to  4  4  Fortunse  Augustse.  ’  ’  At  Tebessa 
we  read  “Apollini  Aug.  Thevestin,”  and  again 
“Virtuti  Aug.  Thevest.”  “Saturno  Augusto” 
is  the  usual  phrase  on  the  votive  tablets  which 
are  found,  literally,  in  hundreds.  At  Lambsesis 
we  find  “Genio  Virtutum  Marti  Augusto”;  an¬ 
other,  “Genio  Augusto.”  This  introduces  an¬ 
other  interesting  word  “Genius,”  and  this  also 
is  common.  We  have  noticed  one  at  Timgad, 
“Genio  Colonise  Thamugadensium”;  the  Capitol 
at  Lambessa  is  dedicated  “Genio  Lambsesis,”  as 
well  as  to  the  great  triad.  This  cult  of  Genii,  a 
sort  of  pre-Christian  guardian  angel  or  patron 
saint,  became  universal  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
as  it  still  is  in  the  Roman  Church;  every  commu¬ 
nity  or  association  of  men,  for  whatever  purpose, 


A  Frontier  Town 


93 


political  or  professional,  had  one.*  At  Rome  a 
special  shield  to  the  Genius  of  the  city  hung  in  the 
Capitol,  bearing  the  comprehensive  inscription 
with  which  many  are  familiar  on  the  altar  at  the 
foot  of  the  Palatine  Hill — “Sei  Deo  Sei  Dexv.® 
Sacrum/  9  It  is  little  wonder  that  from  the  Im¬ 
perial  city  it  spread  even  to  the  little  towns  of 
distant  Africa. 

Timgad  was  never  a  large  or  important  city. 
To  us  it  is  interesting  because  the  circumstances 
of  its  foundation  left  its  builders  free  to  carry  out 
their  plans  unembarrassed  by  conditions  of  space, 
or  consideration  for  existing  buildings ;  and  more 
especially  because  the  remoteness  of  its  site  and 
the  circumstances  of  its  decay  have  saved  its  ruins 
from  later  destruction,  and  from  being  drawn  up¬ 
on  for  the  erection  of  more  modern  towns. 

*  In  the  Forum  at  Rome  is  a  slab  inscribed  1 1  Cenio  aquarum. *  ’ 


I 


CHAPTER  VI 

COUNTRY  LIFE 

Mare  scevum,  littus  importuosum,  ager  frugum 
fertilis ,  bonus  pecori,  arbori  infecundus  ccelo  ter- 
raque  penuria  aquarum  *  “A  dangerous  sea,  a 
coast  with  few  harbours,  good  arable  and  pasture 
land,  but  badly  wooded  owing  to  shortage  of  wa¬ 
ter,  insufficient  rainfall,  and  a  scarcity  of  springs 
or  rivers. ”  Such  was  Sallust’s  description  of 
North  Africa,  when  he  saw  it  before  the  Roman 
occupation  had  become  effective ;  and  it  is  true  and 
exact  now  that  the  Golden  Age  has  passed  away. 
Now,  as  it  was  then  and  always  will  be,  the  dif¬ 
ficulty  is  the  water  supply.  The  land,  even  the 
sand  of  the  Sahara,  is  fertile;  all  it  needs  is 
water — as  in  the  vision  of  Ezekiel,  “Everything 
shall  live  whither  the  river  cometh.”  This  dif¬ 
ficulty  the  Romans  faced  and  overcame  with  aston¬ 
ishing  energy,  perseverance  and  success. 

To-day,  after  thirteen  hundred  years  of  Arab 
devastation  and  neglect,  recovery  seems  to  be,  and 
largely  is,  hopeless.  It  is  difficult,  even  in  imag¬ 
ination,  to  recall  the  days  when,  to  Horace,!  an 
African  farm  was  a  synonym  for  boundless  fertil¬ 
ity,  prosperity,  and  wealth.  Hour  after  hour, 

*  Jug.  xvii. 

t  e.g.  1 1  Si  proprio  condidit  horreo. 

Quicquid  de  Libycis  verritur  areis.” — Carm.  ii.  11. 

94 


95 


Country  Life 

sometimes  day  after  day,  the  traveller  passes 
through  desert  and  treeless,  because  waterless, 
wastes.  From  the  hills  which  skirt  the  horizon, 
stripped  of  their  forest  clothing  by  fire  and  wan¬ 
ton  destruction,  the  rains  have  washed  down  all 
the  soil  into  the  plains  below;  and  now  they  rise 
against  the  sky  grim  and  barren,  mere  splintered 
skeletons  of  what  they  once  were,  but  can  never  be 
again.  Here  and  there  some  relics  of  their  former 
glories  remain.  Splendid  cedars  still  tassel  the 
heights  of  Teniet-el-Had  in  the  Ouarsenis,  of 
Tourgour  and  above  Khenchela  in  the  Aures,  and 
of  the  Atlas  above  Blidah.  Vast  forests  of  cork¬ 
trees  still  clothe  the  Djebel  Edough  near  Bone,  and 
the  beautifully  wooded  gorge  of  the  Medjerba,  be¬ 
tween  Souk  Ahras  and  Mdaourouch,  gives  an  idea 
of  what  North  Africa  was  in  the  days  of  its  pros¬ 
perity. 

Originally,  what  is  now  an  exception  must  have 
been,  in  many  parts,  the  rule.  Large  tracts  of 
mountain  and  plain,  now  barren  and  treeless,  must 
have  been  well  wooded  with  forest  or  jungle.  Ele¬ 
phants*  were  common  and  formed  the  strength  of 
the  Carthaginian  armies;  Juba  lost  the  battle  of 
Thapsus  because  his  elephants  had  only  recently 
been  brought  in,  wild,  from  the  forests  and  were 
untrained  for  war — bellorum  rudes  et  nuperi  a 

*  The  word  1  ( elephant  ’ 7  is  Libyan,  1 1  Fil,  ’  7  adopted  by  the 
Greeks,  first  as  ‘  ‘  Ephelas  ’ 7  then  as  ‘  ‘  Elephas. 7  7  I  have  found 
no  representation  of  elephants  in  mosaic. 

The  first  notice  that  I  can  find  of  camels  is  that  CsGsar’s  booty 
after  the  battle  of  Thapsus  included  twenty-two  camels.  Later 
on,  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries,  the  Roman  generals  in 
Tripoli  requisitioned  them  by  thousands  for  the  carriage  of  water. 


96  Studies  in  North  Africa 

silva;*  wild  animals,  especially  deer,  abounded; 
the  mosaics  in  the  houses  show  ns  pictures  of 
hunting  scenes  in  which  the  game  are  not  only 
hares  and  deer,  but  lions,  tigers,  leopards,  and 
wild  boar.  At  Kef  (Sicca  Veneria)  Flaubert 
places  his  historically  true  episode  of  the  multi¬ 
tude  of  crucified  lions ;  not  only  the  amphitheatres 
of  Africa,  but  even  the  Colosseum  of  Rome,  were 
supplied  from  these  sources. 

Still,  in  spite  of  the  amount  of  forest  which 
this  implies,  and  the  fact  that,  so  far  as  Punic 
occupation  extended,  the  cultivation  of  the  country 
had  been  thorough  and  scientific,  the  difficulties 
which  the  Romans  had  to  face  were  serious,  and 
they  met  them  in  the  only  possible  way — by  the 
systematic  storage  and  distribution  of  the  water. 

Not  less  wonderful  than  the  countless  ruins  of 
cities  and  private  houses  are  the  ruined  water¬ 
works — ruins  which  strew  not  only  the  fertile 
plains,  but  also  the  high  desolate  plateaux,  where 
to-day  the  half-nomad  Berbers  find  it  hard  to  eke 
out  an  existence.  Every  stream  or  river  which 
now  pours  its  wasted  waters  into  chott  or  sand  or 
sea,  shows  signs  of  having  been  carefully  bar- 
raged  at  frequent  intervals  and  the  water  distrib¬ 
uted  far  and  wide  by  subsidiary  canals.  Every 
country-house  had  its  wells  and  tanks,  every 
city  and  town  its  vast  system  of  cisterns  and 
aqueducts. f  Carthage  drew  its  supply  from  the 

*  Flor.  vi.  2,  67. 

t  Aqueducts  have  been  found  at  Constantine,  Timgad,  Lambessa, 
Sbeitla,  Dougga,  Khamissa,  Tebessa,  Chemtou,  Souk-el-Arba,  Mac- 
tar,  Simittu,  Oued  Maliz,  Cherehel,  and  Tipasa. 


97 


Country  Life 

hills  of  Zaghouan,  sixty  miles  away;  the  arches 
of  its  aqueduct  can  still  he  seen  striding  across 
the  plain  near  Oudna,  and  the  tunnels  bored 
through  the  intervening  hills  are  still  in  use  for 
their  old  purpose;  the  enormous  cisterns  where 
the  water  was  stored  still  exist  at  La  Malga  and 
near  Rordj-el-Djedid;  the  latter  are  still  in  use, 
the  former  house  a  colony  of  natives  and  their 
cattle. 

At  El  Diem  (Thysdrus),  where  now  the  lonely 
amphitheatre  rises  forlorn  in  the  midst  of  a 
desert,  an  inscription  tells  us  that  a  certain  magis¬ 
trate  brought  water  in  such  abundance  that,  after 
providing  for  the  wants  of  a  city  with  a  population 
of  about  a  hundred  thousand,  enough  remained  to 
supply  private  houses  on  payment  of  a  water- 
rate. 

On  agricultural  questions,  the  Romans,  profit¬ 
ing  by  the  experience  of  their  predecessors,  took 
as  their  guide  the  writings  of  the  Carthaginian, 
Magon.  In  the  broken  land  and  clearings  they 
bred  sheep  and  goats,  saddle-horses  and  huge 
oxen,  strong  to  labour.  Olives,  date-palms,  and 
figs  yielded  their  fruit;  the  vine  was  cultivated 
for  raisins  as  well  as  for  wine ;  in  the  deep  soil  of 
the  plains  they  grew  corn,  so  luxuriant  that  Pliny* 
tells  us  of  a  procurator  who  sent  to  Augustus  a 
single  ear  containing  four  hundred  grains,  and  in 
such  quantities  that  Africa  became  the  granary  of 
Rome.  Thence  came  the  annona ,  the  daily  bread 

*  H.  N.  xviii.  21.  Another,  containing  360  grains,  was  sent  to 
Nero. 


98  Studies  in  North  Africa 

of  the  vast  capital,  which  was  so  dependent  upon 
it  that  the  man  who  held  Africa  could  starve 
Rome.  So  precious  was  this  supply  that  it  was 
deified  and  became  a  goddess ;  the  vast  granaries 
which  we  still  see  at  Ostia  were  built  to  contain 
it;  it  set  the  worthless,  unemployable  rabble  of 
Rome  free  to  amuse  themselves  in  circus  or  am¬ 
phitheatre.*  What  Canada  and  America  are  to 
England,  that,  and  more,  Africa  was  to  Rome. 

As  the  country  had  been  conquered,  the  land 
was  treated  as  the  property  of  the  victors.  Earge 
tracts,  especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
towns,  were  divided  into  farms,  and  either  sold 
to  great  Roman  capitalists  or  assigned  to  the  vet¬ 
eran  legionaries  who  were  planted  there  to  colo¬ 
nise  the  country.  The  natives  were  in  such  cases 
either  deported  to  other  parts  of  the  province  or 
driven  up  into  the  mountains,  to  be  for  ever  a 
standing  menace  to  the  plains.  If  they  were  al¬ 
lowed  to  remain,  they  had  to  be  content  to  culti¬ 
vate  the  waste,  because  poorer,  lands,  living  in 
their  little  mapalia,  or  huts,  like  Peggotty’s  boat 
at  Yarmouth,  quasi  navium  carin&.-f 

But  this  did  not  last  long.  Even  in  those  days 
when  ‘ 4  competition,  ”  as  we  know  it,  could  hardly 
be  said  to  exist,  a  man  did  not  become  a  skilful 
farmer  simply  by  being  put  in  possession  of  a 
small  holding.  In  Italy  one  agrarian  law  had 
soon  to  be  followed  by  another ;  and  in  Africa  the 

*  ‘ 1  Parce  et  messoribus  illis 

Qui  saturant  urbem  circo  scenaeque  vacantem. — Juv.  viii.  115. 

+  Jug.  xviii. 


99 


Country  Life 

small  farmers  were  soon  swallowed  up  by  the 
great  landowners,  such  as  Pompeianus  at  Oued 
Atmenia;  the  Pulkeni,  who  dispossessed  the  Ma¬ 
rian  veterans  at  Uci  Majus ;  the  Arrii  Antonini  at 
Mileve;  or  the  Lollii  at  Oued  Smendu  near  Con¬ 
stantine.  It  was  in  Africa  that  Caelius  gathered 
the  fortune  which  his  son  wasted.  Cornelius  Ne- 
pos*  tells  us  of  a  certain  Julius  Calidus  who  was 
prosecuted  in  order  that  his  immense  possessions 
in  Africa  might  be  confiscated.  An  inscription  in¬ 
forms  us  that  Julius  Martianus,  who  had  com¬ 
manded  the  Third  Legion  as  Legate  of  Numidia, 
had  great  possessions,  on  which  he  held  a  market, 
at  Mascula  (Khenchela).  Meanwhile  the  old  inde¬ 
pendent  yeomen  either  deserted  the  land  or  be¬ 
came  conductor es  or  tenant  farmers;  and  by  the 
same  process  the  free  coloni  or  peasants  sank 
gradually  into  the  position  of  serfs  ( vernulce ),  tied 
to  the  soil  and  bought  and  sold  with  it,  or  gave 
up  the  struggle  in  despair  and  flocked  into  the 
towns  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed,  and 
to  be  fed  and  amused  at  the  town’s  expense. 

Writing  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  the  elder 
Pliny  f  deplores  the  change  as  the  ruin  of  the 
Empire. 

Fortunately,  although  the  great  country-houses 
have  perished,  we  are  not  left  without  guidance 
in  forming  an  idea  of  their  appearance,  and  of 
the  occupations  of  their  inhabitants.  Africa  is, 
above  all  others,  a*  land  of  mosaics,  and  what  the 
inscriptions  are  to  the  towns,  the  mosaics  are  to 
*  Vit.  Att.  xii.  t  H.N.  xviii.  75. 


ioo  Studies  in  North  Africa 


the  country.  And  so,  taking  these  for  our  guides, 
let  ns  try  to  picture  the  daily  life  and  surround¬ 
ings  of  one  of  these  country  magnates,  of  the  men 
who  laid  them  down,  and  trod  them  day  by  day. 
The  best  are,  for  the  most  part,  preserved  in 
museums — in  the  Bardo  at  Tunis,  at  Sousse, 
Timgad,  Tebessa,  and  elsewhere.  This  is  fortu¬ 
nate  and  necessary,  for  most  of  them  rested  upon 
little  pillars  over  hypocausts — that  is,  hot-air 
chambers — and  so  were  liable  to  be  broken,  even 
without  the  assistance  of  the  omnipresent  Arab 
treasure-hunter. 

For  the  most  part,  and  this  is  significant,  they 
deal  with  outdoor,  not  with  indoor  life.  In  the 
Bardo  at  Tunis  is  one  of  the  few  which  belong  to 
the  latter  class.  It  represents  a  dinner-party: 
nine  tables  have  been  laid,  at  each  of  which  sit 
three  guests,  all  men.  In  the  centre,  men  are 
dancing  to  an  accompaniment  of  drums,  pipes,  and 
large  metal  cymbals  and  castanets.  We  can  still 
hear  the  same  music,  played  on  the  same  instru¬ 
ments,  by  the  negro  clowns  from  the  Soudan. 

In  another  way  these  mosaics  help  us  to  picture 
the  homes  of  the  wealthy  Romans,  by  giving  us  an 
idea  of  the  size  of  the  rooms  they  were  designed 
for.  Many  of  them  must  have  been  large,  some 
very  large.  One  mosaic,  representing  the  Tri¬ 
umph  of  Neptune,  comes  from  Sousse ;  it  measures 
seventy  feet  by  fifty-four.  For  the  most  part 
these  houses  were  like  mediaeval  palaces — spacious 
reception-rooms,  and  small  rooms  to  live  in. 

As  already  said,  the  majority  of  the  mosaics 


IOI 


Country  Life 

deal  with  outdoor  life  and  sports.  A  large  ex¬ 
ample,  found  at  El  Djem,  and  remarkable  for  the 
freedom  and  excellence  of  the  drawing,  gives  a 
series  of  hunting  scenes.  The  first  shows  us  two 
men  on  horseback  with  a  beater  between  them. 
The  horses  are  bridled,  but  have  no  saddles.  The 
riders  are  bare-headed,  and  hold  whips  in  their 
hands,  but  they  are  unarmed,  as  they  are  hunting 
nothing  more  formidable  than  a  hare.  The  second 
contains  two  scenes ;  first  we  see  a  keeper  scarcely 
able,  with  all  his  strength,  to  hold  in  two  large 
hounds  who  are  straining  at  the  leash;  then  the 
hounds  are  split,  and  are  baying  at  a  hare  which 
is  lying  in  its  form.  The  last  represents  the  kill. 
The  two  hunters  are  in  full  cry,  and  the  hounds 
are  close  upon  the  hare,  which — a  curiously  nat¬ 
ural  touch — has  doubled  back  to  the  form. 

Bathing  and  fishing  were  favourite  subjects.  In 
one  mosaic  a  number  of  boys  are  bathing.  One 
stands  hesitating  on  the  bank;  another  has  taken 
a  header,  and  is  just  striking  the  water ;  another 
is  swimming  with  a  long,  easy  side-stroke;  while 
another  is  being  swallowed  by  a  huge  fish.  Yet 
another  is  fishing  from  the  bank  and  has  just 
hooked  a  big  octopus. 

Mosaics  which  represent  fishing  are  common, 
but,  as  a  rule,  they  treat  it  as  a  bit  of  work  and 
business,  not  of  amusement  or  pleasure.  It  is 
done  with  long  heavy  nets  which  are  being 
dragged  in,  usually  by  men,  but  in  one  case  by 
oxen. 

.  From  Tabarka  comes  a  series  of  three  semi- 


102  Studies  in  North  Africa 


circular  mosaics,  which  originally  filled  the  re¬ 
cesses  of  a  tref oiled  room.  They  represent  a  farm, 
and  all  the  varied  work  connected  with  it.  In  the 
centre  of  one  is  a  large  building  with  two  towers 
and  great  open  gateways;  it  stands  in  a  rose- 
garden,  planted  with  olive-trees,  under  which  pi¬ 
geons,  pheasants,  and  partridges*  are  feeding;  be¬ 
low  is  a  lake  with  swans,  geese,  and  ducks,  swim¬ 
ming,  drinking,  or  flapping  their  wings.  A  second 
shows  us  the  farm  with  olives,  vines,  and  pigeons. 
The  third  gives  the  stables;  horses  are  tied  up 
ready  to  be  groomed;  in  the  corner  a  woman  is 
sitting  spinning;  all  round  are  olives  and  vines, 
with  sheep  and  partridges. 

Another,  still  more  elaborate,  shows  men 
ploughing ;  a  shepherd  is  folding  his  flock  of  sheep 
and  goats;  a  horse  is  being  groomed;  another  is 
being  watered,  at  just  such  a  well  as  we  still  see 
in  the  fields ;  a  man,  on  his  hands  and  knees,  dis¬ 
guised,  apparently,  in  a  skin,  is  driving  partridges 
into  a  great  snare  net ;  men  and  dogs  are  chasing 
a  wild  boar  which  has  turned  at  bay ;  other  men,  on 
horseback,  are  hunting  a  tiger ;  while  more  gentle 
swains  are  sitting  under  the  trees  piping  to  their 
flocks. 

By  far  the  most  complete  and  interesting  series 
of  such  mosaics  was  discovered  in  1878  at  Oued 
Atmenia,  about  twenty  miles  from  Constantine  on 
the  road  to  Setif.  Unfortunately  they  have  been 
entirely  destroyed  by  the  Arabs  in  their  search 
for  treasure ;  but  before  this  they  were  carefully 

*  Or,  it  may  be,  guinea-fowl. 


ios 


Country  Life 

examined  and  copied  by  the  Archaeological  Society 
of  Constantine.  Some  have  been  reproduced  in 
colour  by  the  Society.  Two  are  shown  by  Tissot 
in  his  Geographic  comparee  de  la  Province  Pto¬ 
maine  d’Afrique. 

The  building  first  discovered  was  the  Thermae; 
this  was  so  vast  and  splendid  that  it  was  thought 
that  it  must  belong  to  some  large  town;  but  fur¬ 
ther  excavations  proved  that  this  was  not  the  case, 
and  that  it  was  simply  part  of  a  private  house 
belonging  to  a  man  called  Pompeianus. 

In  the  Laconicum,  or  hot  chamber,  the  mosaic 
is  divided  into  four  compartments,  one  above  an¬ 
other.  The  upper  two  show  the  house  and  garden, 
the  other  two  the  favourite  horses  from  the  stud 
of  the  owner. 

In  front  is  the  house  with  the  owner’s  name  over 
it,  Pompeianus.  It  is  a  timbered  structure,  very 
Elizabethan  in  appearance.  The  main  building 
is  two  storeys  high,  with  a  lofty  roof ;  in  the  centre 
is  a  parapeted  tower  rising  to  the  height  of  four 
storeys — that  is,  one  storey  clear  above  the  roof 
of  the  house  itself.  At  the  two  extremities  are 
projecting  wings,  also  with  high  roofs.  Beyond 
these  are  two  pavilions  or  porches,  opening  into 
the  garden  which  lies  behind ;  over  these  are  palm- 
trees.  The  garden  itself  is  a  hortus  inclusus 
walled  in,  and  laid  out  in  beds  of  a  stiff,  formal 
geometrical  pattern;  in  the  middle  of  the  back 
wall  is  a  sort  of  Casino  or  summer-house. 

Below,  in  the  other  two  rows,  are  six  horses  tied 
to  mangers ;  in  each  row  two  horses  share  a  man- 


104  Studies  in  North  Africa 

ger,  while  the  third  has  one  to  himself ;  as 
usual,  over  each  horse  is  its  name,  sometimes  with 
a  few  words  of  praise  or  affection.  In  the  first 
row  are  Delicatus,  with  a  manger  to  himself; 
then  Pullentianus  and  Altus.  The  last  is  thus 
apostrophised:  “Altus  unus  es  ut  mons  exul- 
tas” — ■“ Altus,  there  is  none  like  you;  you  skip 
like  a  mountain.  ”  In  the  bottom  row  are  Scho- 
lasticus,  by  himself,  Titas  and  Polydoxus.  While 
Altus  was  the  favourite  hunter,  Polydoxus  was 
evidently  the  favourite  race-horse.  Over  him  we 
read:  “Vincas  non  vincas  te  amamus  Polydoxe” 
— “Whether  you  win,  or  not,  we  love  you,  Poly¬ 
doxus.  ’ ? 

From  the  Laconicum  a  door  leads  into  the  Suda- 
rium,  or  sweating-room.  On  the  floor  near  the 
door  are  the  cryptic  words,  “Incredula  venila 
benefica.  ’  ’ 

In  the  Sudarium  itself  are  two  mosaics.  Over 
the  first  are  the  words,  “Filoso  FilolocusA  The 
simplest  explanation  is  that  they  stand  for  Phi¬ 
losophic  Locus ,  “The  Place  of  the  Philosopher, ” 
but  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  in  such  elaborate 
work  as  this,  two  mistakes  should  have  been  made, 
and  allowed  to  stand,  in  two  words.  Still,  the 
obvious  is  not  always  wrong,  and  it  is  hard  to 
suggest  any  other  interpretation.  If  this  be  the 
case,  the  incomprehensible  words  above  may  be 
mistakes  also. 

The  mosaic  represents  a  garden  or  Viridarium ; 
on  each  side  are  trees;  the  background  is  green. 


105 


Country  Life 

To  the  left  are  three  pavilions  brightly  coloured; 
to  the  right,  under  a  palm-tree,  laden  with  ripe 
fruit,  a  lady  is  sitting  in  an  armchair  (cathedra) , 
holding  a  fan  ( flabellum )  in  her  right  hand.  By 
her  side  stands  an  attendant;  with  his  left  hand 
he  holds  a  parasol  ( umbella )  over  the  lady’s  head; 
in  his  right,  the  leash  of  a  little  pet  dog;  behind 
are  other  trees,  with  vines  and  bunches  of  grapes. 
Can  this  scene  of  idle  ease  represent  the  School 
of  Philosophy,  as  understood  in  the  country-house 
of  Pompeianus,  and  can  the  attendant  be  the  phi¬ 
losopher  himself!  It  is  quite  possible.  We  know 
that  every  big  house  kept  its  private  philosopher, 
just  as  a  nobleman  used  to  keep  his  private  chap¬ 
lain  or  jester;  and  the  poor  philosopher  was  put 
to  very  base  uses  and  treated  with  as  scant  re¬ 
spect  or  consideration  as  a  Court  chaplain  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  wife  of  one  of  the  Georges. 

The  other  mosaic  in  the  Laconicum,  separated 
from  the  first  by  the  wall  of  the  garden,  represents 
the  park. 

At  the  top  are  two  circular  basins  with  fish  and 
aquatic  plants  in  flower;  above  are  the  words 
“Septum  Venationis, ’ ’  the  “Park  or  Enclosure 
for  Hunting.”  It  is  ringed  in  with  a  high  deer- 
fence  or  net  supported  by  strong  stakes.  Inside 
are  three  gazelles  chased  by  a  couple  of  hounds. 
The  smallness  of  the  space  enclosed,  and  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  any  hunters,  give  the  impression  that  it 
is  a  snare  for  catching  deer  rather  than  a  place 
for  hunting  them. 


io6  Studies  in  North  Africa 


By  the  side  of  this  enclosure  for  deer  is  another 
for  cattle — “Pecuari  Locus,”  *  the  “Place  of  the 
Herdsman. ”  This  part  of  the  mosaic  is  injured, 
almost  destroyed. 

Adjoining  is  the  Atrium.  Here  the  mosaic 
shows  a  hunting-lodge,  or  possibly  the  great  house 
itself,  and  hunting  scenes. 

The  house  at  the  top  of  the  mosaic  is  two  or 
three  storeys  high,  and  is  flanked  on  one  side  by 
a  rich  pavilion,  on  the  other  by  a  lofty  tower  and 
balcony;  above  this  is  written,  “Saltuarii  Ja¬ 
nus,”  “The  Ranger’s  Gate.” 

The  roof,  above  which  are  trees,  is  of  red  tiles 
(teg nice)  ;  in  the  roof  of  the  central  building  are 
four  openings  in  red  and  black.  What  they  are 
is  not  clear ;  if  we  could  be  sure  they  were  chim¬ 
neys,  the  question  whether  Roman  houses  had 
chimneys  or  not  would  be  settled,  and,  with  it,  the 
meaning  of  the  word  caminus. 

Below,  in  three  rows,  we  see  a  party  hunting 
gazelles.  It  consists  of  horsemen  with  spears  in 
their  hands:  Cresconius,  Vernacil,  Cessonius, 
Neantus.  In  front  are  the  hounds  Fxdelis  and 
Castus,  while  close  up  to  the  hounds,  in  his  proper 
place,  rides  Pompeianus  himself,  the  only  one  who 
is  unarmed.  Others,  beaters,  are  on  foot — Liber, 
Dia,z,  and  an  Iberian  boy  who,  like  Liber,  has 
thrown  his  short  mantle,  sagum,  loose  over  his 
left  shoulder.  The  horses  are  saddled,  bridled, 
and  fully  caparisoned.  The  riders  are  lightly 
clad;  they  wear  flat  bonnets  (g alert),  entirely  cov- 

*  Another  misprint  for  Pecuarii. 


107 


Country  Life 

ering  the  head,  short  mantles  thrown  back  over  the 
shoulder  like  hussars  ’  jackets,  and  trousers  tied 
in  at  the  knees.  At  the  close  of  the  hunt,  the 
hunters  are  invited  to  rest  under  the  pleasant 
shade  of  trees. 

Also  in  the  Atrium  are  two  other  strange  mo¬ 
saics.  In  each  are  three  women,  naked,  save  that 
long  mantles  hang  from  their  shoulders  down  their 
backs;  round  their  necks  are  strings  of  pearls, 
and  they  wear  bangles  on  their  arms,  wrists,  and 
ankles.  The  woman  in  the  middle  of  one  of  these 
mosaics  holds  a  sunshade  in  her  right  hand.  They 
sit  on  carved  couches,  two  of  the  legs  of  which 
represent  the  head  and  legs  of  a  stag  or  some  fan¬ 
tastic  animal;  the  others  are  a  series  of  balls, 
increasing  in  size  as  they  approach  the  ground. 

Apart  from  these  last  two  mosaics,  and  making 
some  necessary  allowance  for  the  inevitable  con¬ 
ventionality  of  treatment,  we  cannot  but  be  struck, 
not  only  by  the  very  pleasant,  but  also  by  the 
singularly  modern  picture  which  all  this  gives  us 
of  the  daily  life  of  the  Roman  gentry.  We  should 
only  have  to  take  the  lady  away  from  her  walled 
garden  and  her  philosopher,  and  put  her  on  horse¬ 
back  by  the  side  of  her  husband. 

All  this,  pleasant  and  attractive  as  it  is,  gives, 
unhappily,  only  one  side  of  the  picture — the  life 
of  the  rich ;  that  is,  of  the  few.  There  was  another 
side  very  different  and  very  cruel,  of  which  we 
know  little — the  deep  sighing  of  the  poor,  the 
death  in  life  of  the  slaves.  Of  these  latter  a  few, 
the  most  favoured,  were  attached  to  the  personal 


io8  Studies  in  North  Africa 


service  of  their  masters.  The  vast  majority 
worked  and  died  in  the  fields  under  the  lash  of 
their  taskmasters.  We  must  imagine  for  our¬ 
selves  the  hopeless  horror  of  their  lives;  perhaps 
the  most  awful  comment  upon  it  is  that  no  record 
remains.  Their  misery  must  he  measured  by  the 
luxury  of  their  masters,  their  poverty  by  the 
wealth  of  Africa,  their  hopelessness  by  their 
silence. 

Besides  these  private  estates,  there  were  the 
Imperial  domains  or  s alius,  a  word  which  is  inter¬ 
preted  by  ADlius  Callus  as  meaning  wood  and  pas¬ 
ture  land  ( saltus  est  ubi  silvce  et  pastiones  sunt). 
Pliny  has  told  us  how  the  Emperor  Nero  became 
possessed  of  some  of  these ;  others  passed  into  the 
Imperial  hands  in  a  more  normal  way.  In  every 
colony  a  part  of  the  land  was  reserved  as  public 
or  common  land  ( publicus  ager ),  and  it  was,  per¬ 
haps,  natural  that,  especially  in  Crown  colonies, 
this  should  in  time  come  to  be  considered  and 
treated  as  the  property  of  the  Emperor  himself. 

On  the  hills  which  surround  the  valleys  of  the 
Oueds  Arkou,  Memcha,  and  Ermouchia,  between 
Dougga  and  Kef,  lay  a  cluster  of  these  saltus — 
the  Blandiensis,  Udensis,  Lamianus,  Domitianus 
and  Sustritanus.  Each  of  these  was  managed  by 
an  Imperial  agent  or  procurator ,  under  a  procura¬ 
tor-general  who  had  his  office  at  Carthage.  Under 
the  procurator  were  the  conductores,  or  tenant 
farmers,  to  whom  the  farms  were  let  on  a  five 
years’  lease,  with  the  right  of  sub-letting.  The 
relations  of  these  were  governed  by  the  standing 


109 


Country  Life 

law  of  Hadrian — the  Forma  Perpetua  or  Model 
Lease;  copies  of  this,  accompanied  sometimes  by 
a  sort  of  commentary,  giving  the  details  of  the 
local  usage,  have  been  found  in  various  places, 
engraved  on  slabs  or  pillars  or  altars. 

Here  is  one  of  the  commentaries,*  discovered 
by  Dr.  Carton,  near  a  spring  called  the  Ain 
Ouarsel,  not  far  from  Uci  Majus : 

“See  how  our  Caesar,  with  untiring  solicitude, 
watches  over  the  interests  of  mankind. 

“1.  Concerning  all  the  lands  planted  with 
olives  or  other  fruit-trees  in  the  centuries  of  the 
Saltus  Blandianus  and  Udensis,  and  in  the  parts 
of  the  Saltus  Lamianus  and  Domitianus,  which 
adjoin  the  Saltus  Sustritanus: 

“Neither  the  fact  that  they  cultivate  these  cen¬ 
turies,  nor  the  fact  that  they  hold  'them  from  the 
conductores,  gives  to  the  occupants  the  right  of 
possession,  to  enjoy  their  revenues  or  to  leave 
them  by  will  to  their  heirs,  a  right  which  the  Law 
of  Hadrian  gives  to  virgin  soil  and  to  land  which 
has  lain  waste  for  ten  consecutive  years. 

“2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  crops  on  the  lands 
in  the  Saltus  Blandianus  and  Udensis,  let  by  the 
conductores  to  the  occupants,  shall  not  be  more 
heavily  rented  than  in  the  past.  The  rent  shall 
be  one-third  of  the  produce  of  the  land. 

“So  also  the  parts  of  the  Saltus  Lamianus  and 
Domitianus  adjoining  the  Saltus  Sustritanus  shall 
pay  the  same  rent  as  in  time  past. 

*  Le  Pogs  de  Dougga,  G.  Balut,  p.  62.  A  copy  of  the  Law  of 
Hadrian  is  inscribed  on  an  altar. 


no  Studies  in  North  Africa 


“3.  If  one  of  the  possessor es  shall  plant  or 
graft  olives,  the  produce  shall  he  free  from  all 
impost  for  the  first  ten  years. 

“In  the  same  way,  fruit-trees  shall  not  he  taxed 
for  the  first  seven  years  after  they  have  been 
planted  or  grafted. 

“In  any  case,  the  fruit  of  trees  which  are  not 
thus  exempt  shall  not  he  taxed  unless  the  said 
fruits  are  sold  by  the  possessores. 

“The  rents  arising  from  the  dry  products  of  the 
soil  shall  he  paid  by  the  occupatorius  for  the  five 
years  following  the  cropping  of  the  land,  into  the 
hands  of  the  conductor  who  occupies  the  land. 

“After  that  time,  they  pass  into  the  hands  of 
the  State. ?? 

#•**,*. 

Besides  these  tenants  and  sub-tenants  there 
were  the  coloni,  the  peasantry,  for  the  most  part 
natives,  who  occupied  such  land  as  no  one  else 
wanted.  These  men  were  drifting  fast  from  the 
position  of  peasants  into  that  of  serfs,  attached 
to  and  almost  belonging  to  the  soil.  Since  the 
soil  belonged  to  the  Emperor,  they  claimed  that 
they  also,  in  a  sense,  were  his,  and  had  therefore 
a  claim  upon  him  and  a  right  of  appeal  to  him. 
It  is  curiously  like  the  Clameur  de  Haro,  with 
which  a  suppliant  Norman  cried  to  the  first  pirate 
duke  that  wrong  was  being  done:  ((Haro!  Haro! 
A  Vaide,  mon  Prince,  on  me  fait  tort 

In  addition  to  some  rent,  which  of  course  varied 
*  Bouen,  by  T.  A.  Cook,  p.  146. 


Ill 


Country  Life 

with  the  circumstances,  they  were  obliged  to  give 
six  days  a  year  free  labour,  or  corvee,  to  the 
farmers,  at  the  busiest  times  of  the  year — two  for 
ploughing,  two  for  sowing,  and  two  for  harvest¬ 
ing.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that  this  opened 
the  door  to  much  unjust  exaction  and  oppression. 
A  curious  memorial  of  this  has  been  discovered 
on  the  Saltus  Bururitanus  (Henchir  Dacia,  near 
Souk-el-Kemis)  in  the  valley  of  the  Medjerba, 
inscribed  on  slabs  of  marble  which  are  now  in 
the  Bardo  at  Tunis.* 

Presenting  the  unjust  exactions  of  the  farmers, 
and  despairing  of  obtaining  justice  of  the  proc¬ 
urators,  the  peasants  determined  to  appeal  direct 
to  the  Emperor  himself.  Their  first  letter  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Procurator-General  at 
Carthage,  who,  furious  at  finding  his  administra¬ 
tion  thus  impugned,  sent  soldiers  to  the  spot,  who 
imprisoned  or  flogged  the  audacious  complainants. 

Nothing  daunted,  the  coloni  sent  another  appeal 
which  reached  the  Emperor.  In  this  they  describe 
themselves  as  his  people,  vernulte,  born  upon  his 
land,  alumni  salfuum  tuorum ,  and  give  an  account 
of  their  wrongs.  An  autograph  reply  came  from 
the  Emperor  himself,  righting  their  wrongs,  and 
insisting  that  the  Law  of  Hadrian  should  be  re¬ 
spected,  and  no  more  free  labour  exacted  from 
them  than  was  due.  And  this  Emperor  was  Com- 
modus  the  Gladiator. 

If  in  1864  the  negroes  of  Jamaica  had  had 
equally  easy  access  to  the  throne,  a  very  ugly 

*C.I.L.  10570. 


1 12  Studies  in  North  Africa 

page  would  have  been  blotted  out  from  our  his¬ 
tory. 

Overjoyed,  the  peasants  had  their  letter  and  the 
Emperor ’s  answer,  the  new  Magna  Carta  of  their 
liberties,  engraved  on  slabs  of  marble,  and  set  up 
on  the  estate. 

The  Emperor  ?s  reply  deserves  to  be  given  at 
length : — 

(IMP  CA)ES  M  AURELIUS  COMMODUS  AN 
(TONl)NUS  AUG  SARMAT  GERMANICUS 
MAXIMUS  LURIO  LUCULLO  ET  NOMIN  A 
LIORUM  PROCC  CONTEMPLATIONE  DIS 
CIPLINAS  ET  INSTITUTI  MEI  NE  PLUS 
QUAM  TER  BIN  AS  OPERAS  CURABUNT 
NE  QUIT  PER  INJURXAM  CONTRA  PERPE 
TUAM  FORMAN  A  VOBIS  EXIGATUR 
ET  ALIA  MANU  SCRXPSI  RECOGNOVI. 

“The  Emperor  Caesar  Marcus  Aurelius  Com- 
modus  Antoninus,  Augustus,  Sarmaticus,  Ger- 
manicus  Maximus,  to  Lurius  Lucullus  and  the 
other  procurators :  In  conformance  with  my  direc¬ 
tion  and  ordinance,  you  shall  not  exact  more  than 
two  days5  free  labour,  thrice  in  the  year,  or  inflict 
any  injury  contrary  to  the  standing  orders.  This 
and  the  rest  I  have  written  with  my  own  hand 
and  verified. 5  5 

X  jb  ^ 

w  W  w  W  w 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that  the  mangement 
of  these  vast  estates  required  the  services  of  an 
immense  staff  of  officials.  Two  cemeteries  have 


Country  Life  113 

been  discovered  at  Carthage,  near  the  cisterns 
of  Malga,  set  apart,  one  for  the  free  men,  the 
other  for  the  slaves  attached  to  the  Administra¬ 
tion.  Two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  epitaphs  have 
been  discovered  in  the  one  cemetery,  two  hundred 
and  ninety-five  in  the  other. 

The  strange  construction  of  some  of  these 
tombs,  with  funnels  for  libations,  and  the  still 
stranger  use  to  which  these  funnels  were  put,  will 
be  noticed  elsewhere. 

The  epitaphs  are  interesting  as  supplying  us 
with  the  titles  of  the  various  members  of  this 
Imperial  Familia. 

First  come  the  Procuratores,  or  Imperial 
agents ;  then  there  come  the  Pedisequi  or  runners, 
and  Medici ,  doctors  who  were  attached  to  the  per¬ 
sons  of  the  great  officials.  Others  were  office 
clerks,  Notarii,  or  Librarii ,  or  Tabular ii ;  others 
surveyors,  Mensores  or  Agrimensores  and  Ag- 
rarii:  many  are  soldiers,  others  P&dagogi,  one  a 
philosopher,  another  a  nurse,  another  a  dancer. 
These  were  all  free,  and  probably  Roman  citizens, 
even  if  they  did  not  come  from  Rome.  The  mes¬ 
sengers  and  couriers,  Collegium  Cursorum  et 
Numidarum ,  were  natives  and,  probably,  slaves. 


/ 


CHAPTER  VII 

LIFE  IN  THE  TOWN 

The  traveller  in  Eastern  Algeria  and  Tunisia 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  enormous 
number  of  ruined  Roman  towns  which  he  passes, 
and  the  density  of  the  population  to  which  they 
bear  witness.  Sometimes  the  very  name  of  the 
ruins  is  forgotten;  sometimes  an  inscription  re¬ 
veals  the  name,  but  everything  else  is  lost;  some¬ 
times  a  ruined  arch  or  huge  monument  such  as 
the  amphitheatre  of  Thysdrus  (El  Djem)  rises 
in  the  midst  of  a  desert,  like  the  temples  of  Egypt. 
A  single  day’s  drive  from  Medjez-el-Bab  (Mem- 
bressa)  to  Kef  (Sicca  Yeneria)  carries  us  through 
no  less  than  twenty  towns,  and  even  this  takes  no 
account  of  the  private  and  Imperial  estates,  the 
prcedia,  fundi ,  and  saltus  which  lay  between  them. 
The  thickness  of  the  population  was,  of  course, 
uneven ;  it  depended  upon  the  supply  of  water  and 
the  distance  from  the  sea.  This  latter  point  may 
be  stated  almost  in  terms  of  the  law  of  gravita¬ 
tion,  the  number  and  importance  of  the  towns 
varying  inversely  with  the  square  of  the  distance 
from  Carthage  or  some  other  seaport.  It  is  dif¬ 
ficult,  almost  impossible,  to  realise  now,  as  we 
pass  through  leagues  of  treeless  waste,  by  ranges 
of  bare  rocky  hills,  that  those  hills  were  once 

114 


Life  in  the  Town 


1 15 

clothed  with  forests,  that  those  plains  once  sup¬ 
ported  a  teeming  population,  and  were  the  gran¬ 
ary  of  Rome. 

And  not  less  remarkable  than  the  number  must 
have  been  the  splendour  of  these  cities.  A  single 
illustration  of  this  must  suffice — the  Triumphal 
Arches  which  are  so  marked  a  feature  of  the 
Roman  ruins.  Other  buildings,  theatres,  amphi¬ 
theatres,  fora,  temples,  aqueducts,  were  more  or 
less  necessary,  and  ministered  to  the  pleasures, 
if  not  to  the  absolute  requirements,  of  the  people ; 
these  arches  were  purely  ornamental,  and  so  bear 
a  clearer  witness  simply  to  the  wealth  and  taste 
and  liberality  of  those  who  erected  them.  Often 
only  a  foundation  is  left;  sometimes,  as  with  the 
great  four-fronted  arch  at  Constantine,  only  a 
tradition  remains;  sometimes,  as  at  Medjez-el- 
Bab  (the  Ford  of  the  Gate),  only  the  name  now 
tells  us  of  the  gateway  outside  which  Belisarius 
defeated  the  rebel  Stotzas. 

Often  these  arches  are  only  ornamental  gate¬ 
ways  in  an  existing  city  or  temple  wall,  or  carry 
an  aqueduct,  recalling  the  Porta  Maggiore  or  the 
so-called  Arch  of  Drusus  at  Rome ;  such  are  found 
at  Lambessa,  at  Tebessa,  and  in  the  Capitol  of 
Sbeitla.  But  more  frequently  they  stand  in  soli¬ 
tary  grandeur  entirely  detached  from  any  other 
building. 

Commonly  they  have  only  one  opening,  like  the 
Arch  of  Titus  at  Rome,  but  even  these  are  often 
of  great  dignity  and  beauty ;  such  are  the  Arches 
of  Diocletian  at  Sufetula  (Sbeitla),  of  Commodus 


Ii6  Studies  in  North  Africa 


at  LambsDsis  (Lambessa),  of  M.  Aurelius  at  Vere- 
cunda,  one  of  the  Arches  at  Tibilis  (Announa), 
and  especially  the  very  splendid  Arch  of  Septi- 
mius  Severus  at  Ammcedara  (Haidra). 

And  here  it  may  be  remembered  that  Severus 
was  himself  an  African,  born  at  Leptis,  and  had 
therefore  a  double  claim  on  the  loyalty  of  Afri¬ 
cans,  Roman  and  Berber. 

Very  rarely  these  arches  had  two  openings,  but 
it  was  found  difficult  to  treat  this  form  success¬ 
fully,  and  it  was  hardly  ever  adopted;  a  solitary 
instance  is  to  be  found  at  Tibilis  (Announa) — the 
only  one,  at  any  rate,  that  the  present  writer  has 
found. 

A  more  elaborate  form  has  three  openings;  to 
this  class  belong  the  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus 
at  Lambsesis,  the  entrance  Arch  of  the  Capital  of 
Sufetula  (Sbeitla),  dedicated  to  Antoninus  Pius, 
and  the  great  Arch  of  Trajan  which  bestrides  the 
Decumanus  Maximus  at  Thamugadi  (Timgad). 

The  most  perfect,  the  most  beautiful,  the  most 
intricate,  the  most  costly,  and  therefore  the  rarest 
form,  is  the  four-sided  arch,  like  the  so-called 
Temple  or  Arch  of  Janus  in  the  Forum  Boarium 
of  Rome.  Such  an  arch  still  stands  in  Tripoli, 
and  once  stood  in  Cirta  (Constantine).  The  only 
remaining  instance  in  Africa  is  the  Arch  of  Sep¬ 
timius  Severus  at  Theveste  (Tebessa). 

The  arch  is  a  perfect  square  of  thirty-six  feet. 
On  the  keystones  of  the  arches  which  crown  the 
openings  on  the  four  sides  are  carved  medallions : 
that  on  the  west,  a  divinity,  with  an  Egyptian 


Life  in  the  Town 


117 


head-dress;  that  on  the  east,  Minerva.  On  the 
frieze  are  four  inscriptions — one  to  Caracalla; 
one  to  Septimins  Severus,  who  was  dead  when  the 
arch  was  erected,  and  the  third  to  Julia  Domna, 
Matri  Castrorum  et  Sen .  et  Patrice,  “Mother  of 
the  Camp,  of  the  Senate,  and  of  the  Fatherland.’ 9 
The  fourth  face  was  left  blank.  This  is  common, 
almost  universal  in  inscriptions  to  Septimius 
Severus — either  a  blank,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  his 
arch  in  the  Forum  of  Rome,  an  erasure.  In  every 
case  the  cause  was  the  same.  It  reminds  us  that 
in  the  year  a.d.  212,  the  year  after  the  death  of 
Severus,  Caracalla  murdered  his  brother  Geta, 
preferring,  as  he  said,  to  worship  him  as  a  god 
than  to  have  him  as  a  living  rival — “Sit  divus 
dum  non  sit  vivus.”*  The  blank  where  the  in¬ 
scription  to  Geta  should  have  been,  fixes  the  date 
of  the  arch.  It  was  erected,  or  at  least  dedicated, 
between  the  years  a.d.  212  and  217.  When  Solo¬ 
mon  came  in  a.d.  535,  he  made  the  arch  the  prin¬ 
cipal  gateway  of  his  great  fortress,  and  erected 
an  inscription  for  himself,  “the  most  glorious  and 
most  excellent  Commander-in-Chief  Solomon, 
Prefect  of  Libya  and  Patrician,”  in  the  vacant 
place. 

The  most  remarkable  and  beautiful  feature  of 
the  arch  is  that  it  was  vaulted,  and  that  on  each 

*  The  Roman  Emperors  did  not  take  their  apotheoses  very 
seriously.  Vce,  puto  Deus  fio — “Alas!  I  am  going  to  be  made  a 
god” — were  the  words  of  Vespasian  when  he  lay  a-dying.  It  is 
to  the  homely  wit  of  the  same  Emperor  that  we  owe  the  maxim 
which  is  the  Great  Charter  of  modern  society,  “Money  does  not 
amell.  ’  ’ 


1 1 8  Studies  in  North  Africa 


of  the  four  faces  of  the  arch  stood,  resting  against 
the  central  dome,  a  graceful  little  shrine,  like  the 
Hidicula  at  the  entrance  of  the  Atrium  Vestse  at 
Rome,  doubtless  to  shelter  a  statue.  The  whole 
is  so  sumptuous  and  rich,  that  it  is  curious  that 
it  has  never  been  copied. 

How  are  we  to  account  for  this  marvellous  pro¬ 
fusion  of  splendid  buildings  and  monuments? 
How  came  it  that  not  only  great  cities,  but  even 
small  and  unimportant  towns,  were  so  richly 
adorned?  The  answer  to  these  questions  is  simple 
and  interesting.  They  were  not  built  out  of  the 
rates,  or  by  public  subscription ;  they  were,  almost 
without  exception,  the  gifts  of  private  individuals 
— expressions,  that  is,  of  loyalty  to  the  Emperor, 
and  of  love  and  pride  in  the  city  itself.  Some¬ 
times  it  was  a  governor  or  some  great  landowner, 
more  frequently  it  was  some  wealthy  officer  in 
the  army,  who,  either  while  he  was  alive,  or  by 
will,  devoted  part  of  his  substance  to  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  his  patriotism  and  to  the  beautifying  of 
his  home. 

To  these  men  Civis  Romanus  sum  was  no  un¬ 
meaning  phrase  or  boast — it  was  a  patent  of 
nobility;  it  bound  these  distant  members  to  the 
great  city  which  was  the  heart  of  the  Empire  and 
of  the  world — sometimes  we  hear  it  still,  and  from 
strange  lips,  Io  sono  Romano  di  Roma.  And  each 
colony  or  town,  with  its  capital  and  forum,  was  a 
little  Rome  to  its  inhabitants.  From  the  splen¬ 
dour  of  the  very  ruins  we  learn  to  realise  what 
Roman  patriotism  was,  and  to  understand  the 


Life  in  the  Town 


1 19 

contempt  and  hatred  with  which  the  Roman  of¬ 
ficers  and  citizens  regarded  the  disloyalty,  as  they 
deemed  it,  of  those  who  refused  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  by  burning  incense  to  Caesar. 

But  there  was  more  than  this.  Municipal  of¬ 
fices,  especially  that  of  perpetual  Flamen,  or 
Priest  at  the  Imperial  sacrifices,  were,  in  their 
degree,  as  much  objects  of  ambition  as  it  was  to 
be  consul  or  tribune  then,  or  M.P.  or  J.P.  now. 
In  England  44 The  County’ ’  has  yet  to  learn  not 
to  despise  4 4 The  Town.”  To  serve  on  a  town 
council  has  until  recently  been  considered  almost 
a  degradation:  a  wealthy  merchant,  when  asked 
why  he  declined  to  serve,  replied  that 4  4  he  wanted 
to  keep  himself  respectable.”  Things  are,  hap¬ 
pily,  improving  in  this  respect,  but  we  are  still 
very  far  from  sharing  the  intense  pride  which  the 
Roman  citizen  felt  in  his  town  or  municipality. 
Each  office  had  its  fixed  price,  the  summa  hono¬ 
raria;  the  city  did  not  pay  its  magistrates — they 
paid  the  city  for  the  honour  of  serving.  The 
result  was  natural,  and  the  list  became  a  long 
one.  A  single  fragment  of  an  inscription  found 
in  the  Curia  at  Thamugadi  (Timgad)  gives  the 
names  of  no  less  than  seventy  citizens  whom  the 
Respublica  Thamugadensium  had  admitted  to  the 
splendidissimus  ordo  of  Decuriones,  or  town  coun¬ 
cillors.  Rich  men  were  eagerly  sought  after  for 
this  purpose;  sometimes  a  man  could  boast  that 
he  was  Flamen  Perpetuus  at  both  Thamugadi  and 
Lambaesis.*  A  freedman,  who  could  not,  on  that 


*  C.I.L.  2407. 


120  Studies  in  North  Africa 


account  be  made  a  Decurion,  was  elected  an  honor- 
ary  member  of  that  august  body,  and  was  allowed 
to  wear  the  robes  and  regalia  and  to  occupy  the  re¬ 
served  seats  in  the  theatres.  There  was  a  regular 
tariff.  The  price  of  the  Duumvirate — the  highest 
dignity — at  Thamugadi  was  £32,  of  an  FEdileship 
£24.  In  certain  cases  this  price  was  increased 
ampliatd  taxatione.  It  was  only  after  this  had 
been  paid  that  bribery  began.  This  usually  took 
the  form  of  a  promise  to  erect  some  building  “to 
adorn  the  Fatherland’ ’  ( exornare  Patriam). 

These  benefactions  were  not  always  confined  to 
buildings:  philanthropy  had  its  place  also.  A 
citizen  of  Sicca  Yeneria  (Kef)  left  a  sum  of  one 
million  three  hundred  thousand  sesterces  (£150,- 
000),  for  the  support  and  education  of  five  hun¬ 
dred  poor  children,  three  hundred  boys  and  two 
hundred  girls,  between  the  ages  of  three  and  fif¬ 
teen  years. 

But  civic  duties,  however  honourable  and  oner¬ 
ous,  could  not  fill  the  time  of  the  busy  and  enthu¬ 
siastic  citizens.  Something  lighter  was  needed 
also. 

Happiness  comes  from  God,  but  men  have  to 
make  their  pleasures  for  themselves,  and  appar¬ 
ently  it  is  these  unnecessary  things  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  most,  make  life  worth  living. 

We  have  seen  the  Boman  citizen  in  his  home  in 
the  country,  hunting,  boating,  fishing,  swimming 
— living,  in  fact,  very  much  the  life  of  an  English 
country  gentleman ;  it  remains  for  us  now,  in  deal- 


Life  in  the  Town 


121 


ing  with  town  life,  to  speak  of  the  public  games, 
which  occupied  in  the  life  of  the  people  a  place 
even  more  important  than  that  which  they  fill 
nowadays.  Thus,  in  announcing  the  victory  over 
Firmus,  the  Emperor  Aurelian  writes:  “ Attend 
the  public  games,  spend  your  time  at  the  Circus, 
and  leave  politics  to  us.  We  will  undertake  all 
the  trouble  for  you;  you  shall  have  all  the 
pleasure.” 

Some  of  these  amusements  were  inherited  from 
the  Greeks;  these  were  the  Circus  and  the  Thea¬ 
tre  ;  the  one  which  the  Romans  invented  for  them¬ 
selves  was  the  amphitheatre. 

The  Circus 

The  Circus  was  merely  the  Latin  form  of  the 
Greek  hippodrome,  and,  as  its  Greek  name  implies, 
was  originally  intended  chiefly,  if  not  solely,  for 
chariot  racing.  In  the  Homeric  poems,  Agamem¬ 
non,  Achilles,  and  Ulysses  were  charioteers,  not 
horsemen.  It  was  as  a  charioteer  that  Hector  won 
the  name  by  which  Homer  loves  to  describe  him, 
“The  Chivalrous  Hector,”  and  it  was  to  its  first 
great  builder,  the  Etruscan  King  Tarquinius 
Superbus,  that  Rome  believed  that  she  owed  her 
first  circus,  the  Circus  Maximus.  The  great  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  hippodrome  and  the  circus 
was  that,  among  the  Greeks,  the  drivers  in  the 
races  were  the  great  men  who  owned  the  horses, 
whereas  amongst  the  Romans,  at  any  rate  in  the 
days  of  the  Empire,  of  which  we  are  now  speak¬ 
ing,  the  charioteers  were  paid  professionals. 


122  Studies  in  North  Africa 


From  the  first  days  of  Roman  history,  when  the 
legendary  Romulus  was  fabled  to  have  held 
equally  legendary  races  in  the  Field  of  Mars,  to 
the  days  when  riderless  horses  were  raced,  in  the 
same  place,  down  the  Corso,  permission  to  race 
Jews  having  been  withdrawn,  Panem  et  Cir censes, 
i ‘ Free  food  and  races,* *  have  been  the  chief  de¬ 
mands  of  the  Romans.  And  if  it  was  so  in  Italy, 
much  more  was  it  the  case  in  Africa,  where  the 
love  of  horses  was  indigenous;*  it  was  from  the 
African  grooms  that  St.  Jerome  heard  the  saying 
which  was  passed  into  an  English  proverb :  Equi 
dentes  inspicere  donati — “ Don’t  look  a  gift  horse 
in  the  mouth.”  This  was  an  interest  in  which 
conquerors  and  conquered,  Roman  and  Berber, 
were  united.  Wherever  the  Romans  settled  in 
any  numbers  they  constructed  first  a  theatre, 
then,  if  possible,  an  amphitheatre  and  a  circus. 
They  did  so  in  the  east  at  Carthage,  Dougga,  El 
Djem,  Leptis  Magna,  and  Sousse;  at  Constantine, 
and  in  the  far  west  at  Cherchel.  In  a  mosaic  from 
Gafsa,  now  in  the  Bardo  at  Tunis,  we  see  the  spina 
and  metce,  round  which  the  chariots  are  racing; 
by  their  sides  are  horsemen,  the  jubilatores,  cheer¬ 
ing  on  the  teams,  while  above,  in  long  rows,  are 
the  eager  faces  of  the  spectators — men  and 
women — for  to  the  circus  both  were  admitted  on 
equal  terms,  a  fact  which  doubtless  added  much 
to  the  popularity  of  those  games.  Ovid  has  told 
us  how  he  took  a  girl  to  the  races,  how  he  shielded 

*  According  to  Herodotus,  ‘  ‘  The  Greeks  learnt  f  rom  the  Libyans 
to  yoke  four  horses  to  a  chariot77  (iv.  189). 


Life  in  the  Town 


123 


her  face  from  the  sun  with  his  card  of  the  races, 
how  he  admired  her  ankle  and  wished  he  could 
see  more. 

Another  even  more  interesting  mosaic  from 
Dougga,  also  in  the  Bardo,  represents  a  victorious 
charioteer  Eros .  In  his  left  hand  he  grasps  the 
reins,  in  his  right  the  whip  and  olive  crown ;  over 
the  heads  of  two  of  the  horses  are  inscribed,  as 
usual,  their  names,  Amandus  and  Prunitus ;  to  the 
right  are  the  Car  ceres,  which  took  the  place  of 
the  starting-post;  over  the  charioteer’s  head  runs 
the  pretty,  punning  compliment :  Eros  omnia  per 
te — “0  love  (Eros),  all  things  are  won  by  thee.” 

Another  beautiful  mosaic,  preserved  in  the  Kas- 
bah  at  Sousse,  represents  the  racing  stables  of  a 
certain  Sorothus.  The  hopes  which  Pompeianus 
centred  in  his  horse  Polydoxus  have  been  already 
recorded. 

The  importance  and  wealth  of  a  successful 
charioteer  are  shown  in  many  ways  Martial  com¬ 
pares  the  beggarly  handful  of  coppers  which  was 
all  he  could  earn  in  a  day,  with  the  fifteen  bags 
of  gold  won  by  the  charioteer  Scorpus  in  a  single 
hour.*  The  largest  and  costliest  house  yet  ex¬ 
cavated  at  Carthage  belonged  to  another,  Scorpi- 
anus,  while  a  very  curious  inscription,  discovered 
at  Borne  and  described  by  the  Contessa  Lovatelli, 
tells  us  how  Crescens,  an  African  by  birth,  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  faction  of  the  Blues,  won  his  first  race 
in  the  consulate  of  Vipstanius  Messala,  on  the 
anniversary  festival  of  the  divine  Nerva  (a.d. 


124  Studies  in  North  Africa 

115),  with  the  horses  Circius,  Acceptor,  Delicatus, 
and  Cotynns,  and  his  last,  ten  years  later,  in  the 
consulate  of  Glabrion,  at  the  festival  of  the  divine 
Claudius  (a.d.  124) ;  and  that  between  these  two  he 
won  forty-seven  first  prizes,  one  hundred  and 
thirty  second,  and  one  hundred  and  eleven  third. 
The  prize-money  amounted  to  1,558,346  sesterces, 
or  £14,340. 

The  racing  world  was  divided  into  four  parties 
or  Factiones — the  Green  ( Prasini ),  the  Red  ( Rus - 
sail),  the  Blue  ( Veneti ),  and  the  White  (Alhati). 
Four  chariots,  one  of  each  colour,  raced  in  each 
heat  (missus).  We  find  them  all  in  a  mosaic  in 
the  Thermae  of  Diocletian  at  Rome.  The  men  wear 
round  caps,  close-fitting  jerkins  of  their  proper 
colour,  tight  breeches,  and  high  boots.  Round 
their  bodies  are  laced  the  thongs  which  repre¬ 
sented  the  ends  of  the  reins,  and  added  greatly  to 
the  interest  of  the  races  by  insuring  the  death  of 
any  one  who  was  thrown. 

To  one  or  other  of  these  factions  every  Roman 
belonged.  Nero  belonged  to  the  Green,  and  him¬ 
self  raced  in  their  colours,  and  lodged  the  chario¬ 
teers  and  grooms  in  the  Bomus  Gelotiana  on  the 
Palatine,  that  he  might  be  able  the  more  easily  to 
enjoy  their  society.  To  which  of  them  any  one  be¬ 
longed  was,  for  the  most  part,  as  much  an  acci¬ 
dent  of  birth,  or  station,  or  surroundings  as  the 
politics  of  an  ordinary  Englishman,  but  when  once 
chosen  there  was  no  changing;  in  this,  as  in  other 
matters,  men  atoned  for  the  accidental  character 


Life  in  the  Town 


125 


of  their  original  choice  by  the  obstinacy  with  which 
they  clung  to  it.  Such  a  change  on  the  part  of 
a  charioteer  was  so  rare  that,  when  it  occurred, 
it  was  thought  worthy  of  a  public  monument.  In 
the  court  of  the  Church  of  St.  Irene  at  Constanti¬ 
nople  stands  a  four-sided  monument  adorned  with 
reliefs  and  inscriptions.  It  is  dedicated  to  a  cer¬ 
tain  Porphyrins,  a  famous  charioteer  of  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  sixth  century.  In  one  of  the  in¬ 
scriptions  his  secession  from  the  Blue  faction  to 
the  Green  is  recorded;  while  in  one  of  the  reliefs 
we  are  shown  Porphyrius  himself,  in  his  chariot, 
with,  as  usual,  the  names  of  the  horses  over  the 
head  of  each. 

A  few  years  later  the  change,  if  made  at  all, 
would  hardly  have  been  made  in  this  direction. 
Justinian,  who  loved  horse-racing,  with  a  yet 
more  passionate  devotion  than  even  law  or  theol¬ 
ogy,  belonged  to  the  Blues  (there  were  then  only 
two  factions),  while  the  Empress  Theodora  was 
suspected  of  a  sneaking  attachment  to  the  Greens 
and  heresy.  At  any  rate  the  Blues  constituted 
themselves  champions  of  Church  and  King  and 
assailed  the  Greens  with  a  relentless  ferocity 
which  became  a  matter  of  political  importance. 
Secure  in  the  protection  of  the  Emperor,  masters 
of  the  city,  almost  of  the  world,  they  instituted 
a  veritable  reign  of  terror.*  Clad  in  cloaks  of 
rat-skins,  with  long  tangled  hair  and  moustaches, 

*  It  is  said  that,  on  one  occasion,  thirty  thousand  were  killed 
in  the  Circus. 


126  Studies  in  North  Africa 


recalling  by  their  appearance  the  ferocious  Attila 
whose  savagery  they  strove  to  emulate,  they  wan¬ 
dered  in  armed  bands  through  the  streets  plunder¬ 
ing,  ravishing,  or  slaughtering  whomsoever  they 
would;  their  proudest  boast  was  that  they  could 
kill  a  man  with  a  single  stroke  of  the  dagger.  If 
a  judge  were  so  ill-advised  as  to  attempt  to  do 
justice  and  condemn  an  offender,  the  guilty  wretch 
was  sure  of  a  free  pardon  from  the  Emperor, 
while  the  judge  was  reprimanded,  and,  if  he  re¬ 
peated  his  offence,  his  contumacy  was  punished 
by  removal  from  his  post  and  banishment  to  some 
distant  province  of  the  Empire.  Meanwhile  the 
unhappy  Greens,  massacred  by  their  rivals  and 
deserted  by  the  judges,  fled  from  the  city  and  be¬ 
came  banditti,  preying  without  mercy  on  those 
from  whom  they  had  received  none.* 

The  interest  taken  in  the  races  at  Carthage  is 
illustrated  in  a  curious  way.  Elsewhere  I  shall 
speak  of  the  funnel  tombs  in  the  cemetery  of  the 
Roman  officials,  near  the  cisterns  of  La  Malga, 
and  of  the  love  and  other  charms  which  were 
dropped  into  them.  With  these  have  been  found  a 
number  of  thin  sheets  of  lead,  called  tabula  exe- 
crationis ,  on  which  were  scratched  in  Greek  or 
Latin,  sometimes  in  both,  imprecations  upon  the 
horses  and  drivers  of  various  factions.  For  com¬ 
prehensiveness  and  minuteness  of  detail  they 
are  worthy  of  a  place  by  the  side  of  the  famous 
Rochester  Curse,  printed  by  Sterne  in  Tristram 
Shandy ,  and  parodied  by  Barham  in  The  In- 

*  Proc.  yii. 


Life  in  the  Town 


127 


goldsby  Legends .  This  was  the  curse  which 
aroused  the  pity  of  tenderhearted  Uncle  Toby: — 

“  4 1  declare/  quoth  my  Uncle  Toby,  ‘my  heart 
would  not  let  me  curse  the  devil  himself  with  so 
much  bitterness. ’  ‘He  is  the  father  of  curses/  re¬ 
plied  Dr.  Slop.  ‘So  am  not  1/  replied  my  uncle. 
‘Hut  he  is  cursed  and  damned  already,  to  all  eter¬ 
nity/  replied  Dr.  Slop.  ‘I  am  sorry  for  it/  quoth 
my  Uncle  Toby/’ 

Sometimes  these  imprecations  were  attached  to 
a  cippus,  or  gravestone,  by  a  strip  of  leather; 
sometimes  they  were  dropped  into  the  tomb  itself. 
One  has  been  found  between  two  skulls,  appar¬ 
ently  of  men  who  had  been  beheaded,  as  no  skele¬ 
tons  were  found  with  them,  and  they  had  no  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  ashes  on  which  they  lay.  The  sheets 
are  naturally  small  and  thin ;  on  one,  which 
measures  only  three  inches  by  two  and  a  half,  the 
writing  is  so  minute  that  it  can  be  read  only 
through  a  magnifying  glass. 

The  writing  runs  on  a  square  round  the  four 
sides  of  the  sheet  and  so  round  and  round  until 
it  reaches  the  centre. 

On  one,  not  the  most  venomous,  we  find  a  draw¬ 
ing  of  the  spina  of  the  circus ;  at  the  top  is  a  rough 
drawing  of  a  cock’s  head;  below  are  the  career es. 
On  each  side  is  a  list  of  horses — Sidereus,  Igneus , 
Rapidus,  Impulsator ,  and  so  on — nineteen  on  one 
side  and  eight  on  the  other,  which  is  injured.  The 
imprecation  below  begins  as  follows — I  give  it  in 
the  original  to  show  the  ignorance  of  the  writer : — 

“Ixcito  demon  qui  ic  conversans  trado  tibi  os 


128  Studies  in  North  Africa 


equos  ut  deteneas  illos  et  inplicentur  ec  se  movere 
possint.”* 

The  invocations  are  varied  and  interesting;  one 
begins  as  follows: — 

“I  invoke  Thee,  whosoever  thou  art,  Spirit  of 
the  dead,  dead  before  thy  time,  by  the  seven  en¬ 
throned  with  the  King  of  the  under  world,  &c.”f 
Another  :■ — 

“I  adjure  Thee,  0  Demon,  by  the  Holy  Names, 
Salbal,  Bathbal,  Authierotabai,  Basuthateo,  Aleo, 
Samabethor,  bind  fast  the  horses  of  the  Greens, 
whose  names  I  give  Thee,’ 7  &c4 

Sometimes  they  descend  to  personalities ;  on  one 
the  charioteer  Dionysius  is  called,  wherever  the 
name  occurs,  “the  gorging  glutton. 

The  following  may  be  given  at  length,  not  be¬ 
cause  it  is  the  most  detailed  or  the  most  savage, 
but  for  its  curious  ending.  || 

The  text,  which  is  surrounded  with  cabalistic 
figures,  runs  as  follows: — 

“I  invoke  Thee,  by  the  Great  Names,  to  bind 
fast  every  limb  and  every  nerve  of  Biktorikos 
(Victoricus),  whom  Earth,  the  Mother  of  every 
living  soul,  brought  forth,  the  Charioteer  of  the 
Blues,  and  his  horses  which  he  is  about  to  drive, 
belonging  to  Secondinas,  loubenis  (Juvenis)  and 
Atbokatos  (Advocatus),  and  Boubalos  and  Lau ri¬ 
al  os,  and  those  of  Biktorikos,  Pompeianos  and 
Baianos  and  Biktor  (Victor)  and  Eximios,  and 
those  of  the  Messalians,  Dominator,  and  as  many 

*  C.I.L.  12504. 

t  C.I.L.  12510 
$  Ibid.,  12508. 


tlbid.,  12508. 
H  Ibid.,  12511. 


Life  in  the  Town 


129 


as  shall  be  yoked  with  them.  Bind  fast  their  legs 
that  they  may  not  he  able  to  start  or  to  bound 
or  to  run.  Blind  their  eyes  that  they  may  not  see. 
Rack  their  hearts  and  their  souls  that  they  may 
not  breathe.  As  this  cock  is  bound  by  its  feet  and 
hands  and  head,  so  bind  fast  the  legs  and  hands 
and  head  and  heart  of  Biktorikos,  Charioteer  of 
the  Blues,  to-morrow,  and  his  horses  which  he  is 
about  to  drive,  belonging  to  Secondinas,  loubenis 
and  Atbokatos  and  Boubalos  and  Lauriatos,  and 
those  of  Biktorikos,  Pompeianos  and  Baianos  and 
Biktor  and  Eximios,  and  those  of  the  Messalians, 
nominator,  and  as  many  as  may  be  yoked  with 
them. 

4  4 Again  I  adjure  Thee  by  the  God  of  Heaven 
above  Who  sitteth  upon  the  Cherubim,  Who  di¬ 
vided  the  Earth  and  severed  the  Sea,  lao,  Abrico, 
Arbathiao,  Sabao,  Adonai,*  to  bind  fast  Biktori¬ 
kos,  Charioteer  of  the  Blues,  and  the  horses  which 
he  is  about  to  drive  ....  to-morrow  in  the  Cir¬ 
cus.  Now,  Now,  Quickly,  Quickly.  99 

In  size  these  enormous  structures  differed 
greatly;  the  Circus  Maximus  at  Rome,  after  its 
final  enlargement  by  Trajan,  would  hold  nearly 
half  a  million  spectators ;  that  at  Carthage  would 
accommodate  about  half  that  number;  that  of 
Maxentius,  on  the  Appian  Way,f  about  seventeen 
or  eighteen  thousand.  In  plan,  however,  they  were 
all  alike.  That  at  Carthage,  which  concerns  ns 
most,  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  them  all. 

*  These  names  are  in  Greek ;  the  rest  is  in  Latin. 

t  The  most  perfect  existing  example. 


130  Studies  in  North  Africa 

It  was  a  vast  enclosure,  seven  hundred  and  forty 
yards  long,  and  three  hundred  and  thirty  broad — 
about  the  same  length,  that  is,  as  the  Circus  Maxi¬ 
mus,  but  only  half  the  breadth.  One  end  was  semi¬ 
circular,  the  other  straight.  Round  three  sides 
ran  the  tiers  of  seats,  rising  from  the  ground,  like 
those  of  an  amphitheatre,  to  a  height  of  three 
storeys.  In  the  middle  of  the  semicircle  was  a 
gate,  known  as  Libitina,  an  euphemism  for  Death, 
for  it  was  a  sort  of  “emergency  exit”  by  which 
those  who  were  killed  or  injured  in  turning  the 
goal*  could  be  carried  out;  for  no  amusement 
pleased  the  Romans  which  did  not  at  least  con¬ 
template  such  accidents  as  these. 

The  other  end  was  the  starting-point.  It  was 
straight,  but,  instead  of  being  set  at  right  angles 
to  the  sides,  inclined  to  the  right,  so  that  all  the 
chariots,  whatever  their  position,  might  reach  the 
spina,  round  which  the  course  ran,  at  the  same 
moment.  In  the  middle  of  this  side  was  the  grand 
entrance,  flanked  on  each  side  by  six  stalls,  or 
carceres,  from  which  the  chariots  started.  At 
either  end  was  a  tall  tower  called  the  Oppidum. 
Down  the  middle  of  the  course,  not  parallel  with 
the  sides,  but  at  right  angles  with  the  carceres, 
ran  the  spina,  a  barrier  three  hundred  and  thirty 
yards  long,  splendidly  decorated  with  pillars,  stat¬ 
ues,  altars,  and,  at  Rome,  obelisks.  At  the  two 
ends  of  the  spina  stood  the  goals  or  metce,  the 
turning-points  for  the  chariots;  on  these  were 

*  In  the  imprecation  on  Dionysius  (C.I.L.  12508),  there  is  a 
special  prayei  that  he  may  be  thrown  out  ‘  ‘  at  the  turnings.  1  * 


Life  in  the  Town  13 1 

placed  marble  dolphins  and  eggs,  seven  of  each, 
corresponding  in  number  with  the  laps  of  the  race, 
one  being  removed  as  each  lap  was  completed; 
the  dolphins  probably  represented  the  sea-horses 
of  Neptune,*  who  was  commonly  represented  in 
a  chariot,  while  the  eggs  recalled  the  legend  of 
Leda  and  the  Swan — Leda,  the  mother  of  the  great 
twin-brethren,  “Castor,  swift  with  the  car,”  and 
Pollux,  who  watered  their  horses  at  the  Lake  of 
Juturna  in  the  Forum,  after  the  battle  of  Lake 
Regillus,  and  who  now  stand  by  the  side  of  their 
fiery  steeds  in  the  Piazza  del  Quirinale  on  the 
Monte  Cavallo  at  Rome. 

Of  all  this  splendour  nothing  remains  now  save 
a  few  heaps  of  earth  and  some  broken  stones.  At 
Dougga  the  line  of  the  spina  can  still  be  traced; 
elsewhere  there  is  little  but  a  name,  and  perhaps 
an  inscription,  to  tell  of  what  once  has  been. 

The  Amphitheatre 

More  dear  to  the  Greeks  even  than  the  hippo¬ 
drome  was  the  stadium  for  foot-races  and  other 
contests,  in  which  the  choicest  of  the  Hellenic 
youth  competed.  From  the  games  held  at  Olym¬ 
pia  the  years  were  dated,  as  from  the  consuls  at 
Rome;  to  win  the  parsley  crown  of  victory  was 
a  deed  worthy  to  be  immortalised  in  an  ode  by 
Pindar  or  to  be  used  as  a  metaphor  by  St.  Paul. 
But  for  such  harmless  sport,  save  for  their  own 
private  exercise  and  amusement,  the  Romans  had 

*0x,  more  exactly,  Consus,  the  Neptunus  equestris  (Livy,  i.  9), 
whose  altar  stood  on  the  spina. 


132  Studies  in  North  Africa 

little  liking.  The  so-called  stadium  on  the  Pala¬ 
tine  was  probably  a  garden;  at  any  rate,  it  was 
private,  and  there  is  no  trace  of  a  stadium,  public 
or  private,  in  North  Africa.  In  place  of  such  we 
find  the  purely  Roman  amphitheatre,  more  popu¬ 
lar  even  than  the  circus,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
number,  size,  and  magnificence  of  the  buildings. 
In  Africa  all  that  was  necessary  for  the  shows  was 
easy  to  obtain;  elephants,  lions,  and  other  wild 
beasts  abounded  in  the  forests  and  on  the  moun¬ 
tains,  gladiators  were  not  dear,  and  slaves  and 
Christians  were  always  at  hand.  Happily  the  na¬ 
ture  of  these  sports  and  of  the  places  dedicated 
to  them  is  so  familiar  that  no  detailed  description 
of  either  is  necessary;  especially  as,  in  North 
Africa,  there  have  as  yet  been  found  no  important 
mosaics  representing  them,  like  that  of  the  gladi¬ 
ators  in  the  Lateran  Museum;  or  statues  such  as 
that  of  the  Boxer  in  the  Thermae  of  Diocletian. 

In  the  absence  of  mosaics,  the  following  may 
be  quoted  as  interesting.  The  comic  element  at 
the  games  was  supplied  by  a  buffoon,  who,  dressed 
as  Mercury,  went  round  with  a  red-hot  iron  to 
make  sure  that  the  gladiator,  or  martyr,  as  the 
case  might  be,  was  really  dead.  Tertullian,  in 
his  Apology*  refers  to  this  custom,  “Risimus  et 
inter  ludicras  meridionarum  crudelitates  Mer cu¬ 
rium  mortuos  cauterio  examinant em.”  A  repre¬ 
sentation  of  this  has  been  found  on  one  of  the 
tabula  execrationis  discovered  in  the  Amphithea¬ 
tre  at  Carthage.  It  portrays  a  monstrous  beast, 


XV. 


Life  in  the  Town 


133 


and  a  man  disgnised  as  Mercury ;  his  knee  is  on  a 
gladiator  lying  prostrate  on  the  ground,  whom  he 
is  piercing  with  a  weapon  like  a  chisel  or  dagger 
— no  doubt  the  hot  iron  used  to  certify  the  death. 

Amongst  the  largest  and  by  far  the  most  per¬ 
fect  amphitheatre  in  North  Africa  is  that  at  El 
Djem,  the  ancient  Thysdrns,  approaching  the  Col¬ 
osseum  itself  in  both  size  and  completeness.  The 
first  sight  of  it  is  strangely  impressive.  The  road 
from  Sousse  (Hadrumetum)  to  Sfax  (Taparura) 
climbs  slowly  up  a  long  hill;  as  it  reaches  the 
summit,  a  vast,  desolate  tract  of  treeless  desert 
comes  in  sight.  The  land  is  either  bare  or  covered 
with  scrub,  save  where,  here  and  there,  a  patch  of 
green  tells  that  it  is  yielding  a  scanty  return  for 
the  ineffectual  scratching  of  an  Arab  plough.  In 
the  distance  are  a  few  olives,  lately  planted  by 
the  French,  and  in  the  centre  of  this  desolation, 
closing,  at  a  distance  of  some  six  miles,  the  dreary 
vista  of  a  long  straight  stretch  of  road,  there  rises 
out  of  the  wilderness  the  enormous  bulk  of  the 
amphitheatre.  It  is  like  the  lonely  Church  of 
Apollinaris,  which  marks,  like  a  huge  gravestone, 
the  place  where  rests  the  vanished  city  of  Classis. 
What  has  become  of  the  mighty  city,  of  the  teem¬ 
ing  population,  which  required  so  prodigious  a 
playground?  In  the  third  century  of  our  era, 
to  which  the  building  belongs,  Thysdrus,  with  a 
population  of  one  hundred  thousand,  was  one  of 
the  most  important  cities  of  Roman  North  Africa. 
It  was  here  that  in  a.d.  238  the  proconsul  Gordian 
was  proclaimed  Emperor;  according  to  tradition, 


134  Studies  in  North  Africa 

the  Berber  heroine,  the  Kahenah,  made  this  her 
fortress  in  her  long  fight  for  liberty  against  the 
Arab  invaders.  Now  all  is  gone.  As  we  passed 
through  the  squalid  Arab  village  which  nestles  un¬ 
der  the  wing  of  the  rugged  walls  of  the  amphi¬ 
theatre,  some  navvies  who  were  making  a  new  rail¬ 
road  had  just  discovered  the  beautiful  mosaic  floor 
of  an  old  Roman  house;  they  offered  it  to  our 
party  if  we  could  remove  it.  This  was,  of  course, 
impossible,  and  it  was  destroyed.  So  late  as  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  amphitheatre 
was  almost  intact.  Then  the  natives  rebelled,  re¬ 
fused  to  pay  taxes,  and  shutting  themselves  up, 
like  the  Frangipani  at  Rome,  in  their  fortress, 
stood  a  regular  siege  from  the  troops  of  the  Bey 
of  Tunis.  Victorious  in  the  end,  the  Bey  de¬ 
stroyed  a  large  section  of  the  building  to  prevent 
such  another  happening. 

But  though  now  by  far  the  most  perfect,  the 
amphitheatre  at  El  Djem  was  not  the  only  one 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  Colosseum.  That 
at  Carthage  approached  it  in  size,  and  was,  more¬ 
over,  five  storeys  in  height  instead  of  three.  Fif¬ 
teen  miles  south  of  Tunis,  at  Oudna  (Uthina),  was 
another,  hollowed  out  of  the  hill.  Utica  possessed 
another,  larger  still,  but,  like  that  at  Oudna,  hol¬ 
lowed  out  of  a  hill.  Others  are  found  at  Henchir 
Fradiz  (Aphrodisium),  Ras  Dinas  (Thapsus), 
Oued  Maliz  (Simithu),  Bulla  Regia,  Sbeitla  (Sufe- 
tula),  Lambessa  (Lambaesis),  Lamta  (Leptis  Par- 
va),  Thyna  (Thcena),  Constantine  (Cirta),  and, 
in  the  far  west,  Cherchel  (Caesarea).  Doubtless 


AMPHITHEATRE  REMAINS,  EL  DJEM. 


Life  in  the  Town 


135 


there  were  others,  but  even  this  number  is  remark¬ 
able  when  we  consider  the  vast  bulk  of  such  build¬ 
ings,  and  bears  witness  to  the  terrible  fascina¬ 
tion  of  the  games. 

What  this  fascination  was,  Augustine  tells  us  in 
his  Confessions.  A  pupil  and  friend  of  his,  Alyp- 
ius,  had  gone  to  Rome  to  study  law.  One  day  some 
friends  coming  home  from  dinner  met  him  and 
dragged  him,  against  his  will,  to  the  Colosseum. 
At  first  he  kept  his  eyes  shut.  “Would  God,” 
says  the  writer,  “he  had  stopped  his  ears  also! 
For  in  the  fight,  when  one  fell,  a  mighty  cry  of 
the  people  striking  him  strongly,  overcome  by 
curiosity,  he  opened  his  eyes  .  .  .  and  fell  more 
miserably  than  he  upon  whose  fall  that  mighty 
noise  was  raised  .  .  .  For  so  soon  as  he  saw  the 
blood  he  therewith  drunk  down  savageness,  nor 
turned  away,  but  fixed  his  eye,  drinking  in  frenzy 
unawares,  and  was  delighted  with  that  guilty  fight, 
and  intoxicated  with  the  bloody  pastime.  Nor  was 
he  now  the  man  he  came;  but  one  of  the  throng 
he  came  with  .  .  .  Why  say  more?  He  beheld, 
kindled,  shouted,  carried  with  him  thence  the  mad¬ 
ness  which  should  goad  him  to  return  not  only  with 
them  who  first  drew  him  thither,  but  also  before 
them,  and  to  draw  on  others.” 

In  a.d.  177  Marcus  Aurelius  promulgated  two 
rescripts  against  the  Christians.  On  July  17th, 
a.d.  180,  some  poor  peasants  who  had  been  ar¬ 
rested  as  Christians  in  the  village  of  Scillium, 
were  brought  before  the  Proconsul,  Vigellius  Sa- 
turninus,  at  Carthage.  They  were  twelve  in  num- 


136  Studies  in  North  Africa 

ber — seven  men  and  five  women;  but  the  names 
of  only  six  are  recorded.  The  whole  story  shows 
that  the  task  was  distasteful  to  the  judge,  and 
that  he  tried  to  get  such  a  retractation  from  the 
prisoners  as  might  enable  him  to  dismiss  the  case. 
“We,”  he  says  to  one  of  them,  “are  religious 
men,  like  you,  and  our  religion  is  very  simple ;  we 
swear  by  the  genius  of  our  Lord  the  Emperor, 
and  pray  for  his  safety,  and  you  ought  to  do  the 
same.  ”  Unable  to  win  the  submission  he  required, 
he  offered  them  thirty  days’  grace  in  which  to 
consider  the  matter.  This  they  at  once  refused. 
At  last  he  was  compelled  to  pass  sentence :  ‘  ‘  Sper- 
atus  Nartzalus,  Cittinus,  Yestia,  Donata,  Secunda, 
and  the  others  have  confessed  that  they  are 
Christians.  They  have  been  invited  to  return  to 
the  religion  of  Rome,  and  they  have  obstinately 
refused.  Our  sentence  is  that  they  die  by  the 
sword.  ”  “  Thanks  be  to  God,  ’  ’  they  all  exclaimed. 
“And  so,”  runs  the  record,  “they  together  re¬ 
ceived  the  crown  of  martyrdom;  and  now  they 
reign  with  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  for  ever  and  ever,  Amen.” 

It  is  supposed  that  the  basilica  which  was  raised 
over  their  place  of  burial  stood  on  the  little  knoll 
now  called  Koudiat  Tsalli  (The  Hill  of  Prayer) 
near  the  amphitheatre.  Their  bones,  according 
to  Pere  Delattre,*  have  recently  been  discovered 
in  the  Church  of  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo  on  the  Cce- 
lian,  in  Pome. 

In  a.d.  202  an  edict  of  the  new  Emperor,  Sep- 

*  Huines  de  Carthage,  p.  10. 


137 


Life  in  the  Town 

timius  Severus,  gave  a  fresh  impulse  to  the  perse¬ 
cution.  We  hear  of  Jucundus,  Artaxius,  Satur- 
ninus  being  “ burnt  alive,’ 9  of  Quintus  who  died  in 
prison,  of  Emilius  and  Castus,  a  girl  Guddena,  and 
Mavilus  of  Hadrumetum  (Sousse).  To  this  time 
belongs  the  martyrdom  of  Felicitas  and  Perpetua, 
who  are  to-day  honoured  as  the  patron  saints  of 
Carthage. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  a.d.  202  five  persons 
were  arrested  at  Thuburbo  Minus  (Tebourba)  and 
brought  to  Carthage,  on  a  charge,  not  of  being 
Christians,  but  of  proselytising.  Three  were  men 
— Saturninus,  Secundulus,  and  a  slave  Rebocatus 
(Revocatus).  Two  were  women — a  lady  of  rank, 
Vibia  (Fabia)  Perpetua,  and  a  slave  girl  Felicitas. 
It  is  probable,  if  not  certain,  that  Perpetua,  and 
perhaps  the  others,  were  Montanists.  Another, 
Saturus,  followed  them  to  Carthage  and  gave  him¬ 
self  up.  The  Proconsul,  Minucius  Timinianus, 
had  just  died,  and  the  case  came  before  the  in¬ 
terim  governor,  Hilarianus.  The  career  castren- 
sis  where  Perpetua  was  confined  is  still  .shown 
near  the  modern  buildings  of  St.  Monnica.  The 
prisoners  were  tried  and  condemned  in  the  Pro¬ 
consular  Palace  in  Byrsa,  and  on  the  day  before 
their  martyrdom  they  were  taken  to  the  amphi¬ 
theatre.  There  they  together  shared  their  last 
meal,  the  Ccena  Libera,  to  which  spectators  were 
admitted.  i  ‘  Look  at  us  well, 9  9  cried  Saturus,  turn¬ 
ing  fiercely  on  the  gaping  crowd, 6  6  look  at  us  well, 
that  you  may  be  able  to  recognise  us  at  the  Day 
of  Judgment.” 


138  Studies  in  North  Africa 

The  account  of  their  martyrdom  is  so  simple 
and  natural  that  it  may  be  accepted  as  true,  pos¬ 
sibly  even  as  the  report  of  an  actual  eye-witness. 

Before  the  games  they  were  stripped  of  their 
clothes,  sacrificial  fillets  were  bound  on  their 
heads,  and  they  were  given  the  robes  of  priests  of 
Hammon,  or  priestesses  of  Tanith.  These  they 
refused,  so  they  remained  naked.  The  men  were 
exposed  first  to  the  attack  of  a  leopard,  then  of 
a  bear.  For  the  women,  as  an  insult  to  their  sex, 
a  wild  cow  was  provided.  They  had  both  recently 
had  children,  and  the  sight  of  the  milk  running 
down  from  the  breasts  of  Felicitas  touched,  for 
a  moment,  the  hearts  of  the  multitudes.  In  obedi¬ 
ence  to  the  shouts  which  arose,  they  were  led  back 
and  their  own  clothes  were  restored  to  them.  Per- 
petua  returned  first;  she  was  tossed  by  the  cow 
and  fell  upon  her  back.  Her  dress  was  torn,  and, 
as  she  lay  on  the  ground,  she  drew  it  over  her 
limbs  again  and  tried  to  fasten  up  her  hair,  which 
had  come  down.  She  then  raised  herself,  and 
seeing  Felicitas  lying,  stunned  and  bruised,  she 
dragged  herself  towards  her  and  tried  to  lift  her 
up.  The  people  were  again  touched  with  pity,  and 
cried  out  that  their  lives  should  be  spared,  and 
they  were  led  out  by  the  gate  called  Sanavivaria. 
It’s  a  curious  touch,  as  showing  the  spiritual  ex¬ 
altation  of  the  martyr,  that  the  first  words  of 
Perpetua  were  a  question,  when  the  martyrdom 
would  begin.  Later  in  the  day  the  mob  changed 
their  minds,  and  demanded  that  they  should  be 
brought  back  to  suffer.  After  giving  one  another 


Life  in  the  Town 


139 


the  kiss  of  peace,  they  awaited  the  sword  in  si¬ 
lence.  Saturus  suffered  first :  Perpetna  last.  The 
executioner  was  a  novice;  the  first  blow  failed, 
and  she  uttered  a  cry.  Then,  seeing  that  the  man 
was  overcome  and  trembling,  she  took  the  dagger 
in  her  hand  and  herself  placed  it  at  her  throat. 

In  the  arena,  a  cross  has  been  raised  to  their 
honour,  and  a  large  vault,  possibly  the  one  in 
which  they  were  placed  before  the  martyrdom, 
dressed  as  a  chapel.  Between  St.  Monnica  and 
La  Marsa,  a  very  ancient  memoria  marly  rum 
has  been  discovered ;  it  runs  as  follows : — 

. NT  MARTY . 

SATURUS  SATUR .  .  . 

REBOCATUS . 

FELICIT  .  .  .  PER .... 

In  the  Museum  at  Carthage  is  a  sepulchral  slab, 
said  to  be  that  of  Perpetua.  The  inscription 
runs : — 

PERPETUE  FILIE 

dulcissim^:. 

If  this  be  true,  it  would  show  that  she  was  rec¬ 
onciled  to  her  family,  who  remained  pagan;  but 
the  name  was  not  uncommon,  and  the  attribution 
is  more  than  doubtful. 

At  Dougga  a  very  interesting  memorial  has 
been  found  of  certain  martyrs  of  whom  we  know 
neither  the  names  nor  the  date.  Near  the  road¬ 
side  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  which  is  crowned  with 
the  Temple  of  Saturn,  are  the  ruins  of  a  Christian 


140  Studies  in  North  Africa 

church,  built  of  stones  from  the  temple.  Close 
by,  and  certainly  connected  with  the  church,  frag¬ 
ments  of  an  inscription  have  been  discovered,  im¬ 
perfect,  indeed,  but  the  meaning  of  which  is  clear. 
It  is  addressed  to  “The  Holy  and  most  Blessed 
Martyrs,”  and  speaks  of  four  cubicula  or  crypts 
which  Mammarius,  Granius,  and  Epideforus  had 
built  at  their  own  expense  for  funeral  feasts,  sym¬ 
posia  or  convivia.  In  Etruscan  times  these  cham¬ 
bers  and  feasts  were  common;  a  very  remarkable 
example  of  such  a  chamber  is  found  in  the  tomb 
of  the  Yelimni  at  Perugia.  But,  in  the  Christian 
Church,  this  seems  to  be  a  solitary  example.* 

The  inscription  is  as  follows: — 

SANCTI  ET  BEATISSIMI  MARTURES  PETIMUS  IN  MENTE 
HABEATIS  ITT  DONENTUR  V0BIS  ....  SIMPOSIUM 
MAMMARIUM  GRANIUM  EPIDEFORMUM  QUI  H.EC  CUBICULA 
QUATTUOR  AD  CONVIVIA  PRO  MARTURIBUS  SUIS  SUMPTI- 
BUS  ET  SUIS  OPERIBUS  FECERUNT. 

The  Theatre 

An  amphitheatre  or  circus  was  a  luxury,  a  thea¬ 
tre  was  almost  a  necessity  of  every  self-respecting 
town.  Hollowed,  whenever  possible,  out  of  the 
summit  or  flank  of  a  hill,  we  find  their  remains 
not  only  in  great  cities  such  as  Carthage  or  Sufe- 
tula  (Sbeitla)  or  Hadrumetum  (Sousse),  but  in 
little  frontier  fortresses  like  Timgad  or  Tebessa, 
and  country  towns  such  as  Dougga. 

*  Convivia  held  in  honour  of  martyrs,  at  their  graves,  are  men¬ 
tioned  by  Theodoret  (a.d.  429) ;  and  Augustine  complains  of 
excessive  drinking  at  these  feasts.  Vide  Egypt  and  Israel ,  p.  133. 


Life  in  the  Town 


141 

For  four  hundred  years  the  theatre  maintained 
its  popularity,  but  it  did  so  only  because  it  was 
content  to  follow  rather  than  to  form  popular 
taste;  and  popular  taste,  at  any  rate  among  the 
Romans,  fell  very  low. 

In  truth,  the  Romans  never  took  kindly  to  the 
Greek  drama,  whether  tragic  or  comic.  The  so¬ 
lemnity  of  the  themes  chosen,  the  restrained  maj¬ 
esty  of  the  poetry,  the  elaborate  and  balanced 
melody  of  the  choruses,  all  this  required  an  eleva¬ 
tion  of  mental  training  and  a  sensitiveness  of  ear 
of  which  a  Roman  audience  was  as  incapable  as  an 
English  one  would  be  to-day ;  and  so  Tragedy  be¬ 
came  Drama  and  Drama  Melodrama.  In  the  days 
of  the  Republic,  while  “Matron”  was  still 

“Magnum  et  venerabile  nomen, 

Gentibus,  et  nostrae  multum  quod  profuit  urbi,  ’ * 

dramatists  kept  their  hands  off  the  subject;  but 
under  the  Empire,  when  women  counted  the  years 
by  their  divorces  instead  of  by  the  Consuls,  prob¬ 
lem  plays  became  the  rage. 

The  decay  of  Comedy  was  even  more  rapid  and 
complete;  the  fall  from  Comedy  to  Farce,  from 
Farce  to  Burlesque,  and  from  Burlesque  to  mere 
buffoonery  was  unbroken,  until  at  last  the  legiti¬ 
mate  Drama  became  little  better  than  a  variety 
entertainment.  “There,”  says  Apuleius,*  “the 
Mimic  plays  the  fool,  the  Comedian  chatters,  the 
Tragedian  rants,  the  Pantomimist  (actor  in  dumb 


*  Flor .  1-5. 


142  Studies  in  North  Africa 

show)  gesticulates,  the  Acrobat  risks  his  neck,  and 
the  Conjurer  does  his  tricks.”  By  degrees  the 
old  Drama,  in  which  many  characters  had  their 
balanced  parts,  was  broken  up  into  monologues; 
sometimes  the  choirs  occupied  the  orchestra  and 
accompanied  the  actor  as  he  declaimed,  “through 
music”;  sometimes  the  choir  played  and  sang 
while  the  actor  did  his  part  in  dumb  show.  Then 
there  was  the  Mimic  who  imitated  common  actions 
and  vulgar  people ;  or  the  rough-and-tumble  work 
of  the  Clown,  with  the  Pantaloon,  stupidus  gregis, 
who  took  all  the  kicks  and  buffetings ;  or  the  comic 
business,  like  the  harlequinade  of  old-fashioned 
pantomime,  between  the  thief  ( Laureolus )  and  the 
policeman.  Here  there  came  a  touch  of  tragedy, 
for  since  Roman  propriety  required  that  the  law 
should  triumph  in  the  end,  it  was  necessary  that 
eventually  the  poor  knave  should  be  caught  and 
crucified.  Under  Domitian  this  sentence  wras  ac¬ 
tually  carried  out  on  the  stage,  to  the  great  con¬ 
tent  of  the  audience,  who,  then  as  now,  loved  real¬ 
ism.* 

Lastly,  the  performance  ended  with  a  general 
tombola  or  scramble,  in  which  the  weaker  were 
thrown  down,  trampled  on,  suffocated,  and  some¬ 
times  killed.  Fruit,  sweetmeats,  cakes,  money, 
coins,  and  medals,  with  filthy  devices,  struck  for 
the  purpose,  were  showered  upon  the  rows  of 
seats.  At  last  it  was  found  necessary  to  give 
lottery  tickets  ( tessera )  to  the  respectable  folk, 
and  let  them  leave  before  the  horse-play  began. 

*  L  ’Afrique  JRomame,  p.  259. 


Life  in  the  Town 


143 

As  last  signs  of  decadence,  encores  were  al¬ 
lowed,  and  a  claque,  laudiceni,  employed. 

To  turn  from  the  performances  to  the  buildings 
is  like  coming  out  of  darkness  into  light;  it  is 
difficult  to  imagine  anything  more  beautiful  and 
gracious  than  some  of  the  African  theatres. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  whereas  the  Greeks 
placed  their  theatres  high  up,  amid  beautiful 
scenery,  as  at  Taormina,  or  Syracuse,  or  Segestus, 
the  Romans  were  indifferent  about  the  surround¬ 
ings.  Certainly  this  is  true  of  the  two  principal 
theatres  of  Rome,  those  of  Pompey  and  Marcellus, 
as  it  is  of  some  in  Africa,  such  as  those  at  Bulla 
Regia,  Colonia  Julia  Assuras  (Zamfour),  or  Althi- 
buros  (Medeina),  and  always  for  the  same  reason 
that  they  had  to  be  erected  on  level  ground;  but 
whenever  possible,  as  at  Thamugadi,  or  Carthage, 
or  Thugga,  they  were  hollowed  out  of  the  sum¬ 
mit,  or,  at  any  rate,  the  flank  of  a  hill,  and  com¬ 
manded  a  view  hardly  inferior  to  the  famous  pan¬ 
oramas  from  the  theatres  of  Sicily.  Since,  except 
in  detail,  they  very  closely  resemble  one  another, 
let  us  take  as  an  example  that  at  Dougga,  as  be¬ 
ing  the  most  perfect  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful 
both  in  structure  and  in  situation. 

As  is  the  case  with  all  Latin  theatres,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  points  which  distinguish  them  from  the 
Greek,  the  auditorium,  or  cavea,  is  a  perfect  semi¬ 
circle,  the  diameter  in  this  case  being  seventy 
yards  and  the  radius  thirty  five.  The  orchestra, 
or  pit,  is  surrounded  by  five  steps,  on  which  were 
placed  seats  for  magistrates  and  persons  of  im- 


144  Studies  in  North  Africa 

portance.  Access  to  this  part  of  the  theatre,  which 
was  separated  by  a  wall  from  the  rest,  was  given 
by  two  arched  entrances  or  vomitoria,  one  on  each 
side.  Over  that  to  the  right,  as  yon  face  the  audi¬ 
ence,  was  the  royal  box,  or  pulvinar,  which  was 
occupied  usually  by  the  man  who  bore  the  expense 
of  the  spectacle.  The  rest  of  the  cavea,  which  was 
hollowed  out  of  the  hill,  was  formed  of  twenty- 
five  rows  of  seats.  These  were  divided  into  three 
classes,  one  above  the  other,  by  walls  and  pas¬ 
sages  ;  access  was  given  by  a  grand  staircase  down 
the  middle  and  four  other  staircases  which  divided 
the  seats  into  six  cunei  or  wedges.  Round  the 
top  ran  a  handsome  pillared  portico  or  arcade. 
The  portico,  which  had  five  doors,  one  opposite 
each  staircase,  bore,  as  usual,  a  great  inscription. 
This  informs  us,  with  much  detail,  that  Publius 
Marcius  Quadratus,  on  the  occasion  of  his  eleva¬ 
tion  to  the  post  of  Perpetual  Plamen  of  the  di¬ 
vine  Augustus,  by  the  Emperor  Antoninus,  pre¬ 
sented  the  entire  theatre  to  his  country;  that  he 
also  gave  in  it  scenic  representations,  a  distribu¬ 
tion  of  food,  a  feast,  and  a  show  of  gymnastics. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  stage. 

In  front  of  the  stage,  or  scena,  beyond  the  pas¬ 
sage  between  the  two  vomitoria,  stood  the  pulpi- 
tum ;  this  was  a  wall  about  three  feet  high,  in 
which  were  a  series  of  seven  recesses,  alternately 
square  and  semicircular;  in  the  middle  recess, 
which  was  semicircular,  stood  the  altar,  which  in  a 
Greek  theatre  would  have  stood  in  the  centre  of 
the  orchestra ;  it  reminds  us  that,  even  in  its  worst 


Life  in  the  Town 


145 

\ 

days,  the  performance  never  altogether  lost  its 
religions  character,  and  for  this  reason  men  had 
to  attend  in  full  dress,  that  is,  wearing  the  toga . 
Tertuliian  created  such  a  scandal  at  Carthage  by 
breaking  this  rule  and  going  in  his  pallium  only, 
that  he  was  obliged  to  publish  an  elaborate  ex¬ 
planation  and  apology.  In  the  last  recess  at  each 
end  was  a  staircase,  by  which,  if  necessary,  the 
choir  or  performers  could  reach  the  orchestra. 

Behind  this  was  the  curtain,  the  auleum.  As  a 
rule,  this  was  like  our  drop  scene,  of  a  single 
piece,  but  it  worked  on  a  roller  which  lay  below 
the  stage,  so  that  it  was  dropped  at  the  beginning, 
and  raised  at  the  end  of  the  performance.  On  the 
bottom  of  it  were  painted  or  worked  figures  of 
Britons,  so  that  as  it  rose  it  seemed  as  if  they 
were  raising  it — 

“ Purpurea  intexti  tollunt  aulea  Britanni.”  * 

On  the  stage  of  the  theatre  of  Timgad  there 
are  still  sixteen  holes  for  the  supports  on  which 
the  roller  rested. 

The  arrangement  at  Dougga  was  somewhat  dif¬ 
ferent,  in  that  a  series  of  small  curtains  took  the 
place  of  one  large  one ;  but  it  has  been  found  nec¬ 
essary  to  rebuild  the  front  of  the  stage,  and  the 
method  of  working  the  curtains  is  not  clear. 

The  stage  itself,  which  is  about  seventeen  feet 
deep,  was  covered  with  mosaic,  except  in  the  mid- 

#  Verg.  2En.  i.  282. 


1 


146  Studies  in  North  Africa 

die,  where  there  were  four  trap-doors,  for  the 
sudden  appearance  of  gods  or  ghosts,  “  6 Mater 
te  appello’  dictitantes and  other  similar  stage 
business. 

All  this  is  not  very  unlike  a  modern  theatre, 
and  has  been  imitated  with  success  at  Bayreuth. 
The  great  difference  is  in  the  solid  wall  which  took 
the  place  of  our  movable  scenery,  at  the  back  of 
the  stage.  This  was  as  high  as  the  gallery  which 
ran  round  the  top  of  the  cavea ,  and  must  have 
been  of  two,  if  not  three,  storeys,  of  great  splen¬ 
dour  and  beauty. 

Across  the  stage,  from  side  to  side,  ran  a  low 
wall  about  four  feet  high,  on  which  rested  an 
arcade  of  thirty-two  pillars.  The  wall  was  not 
straight,  but,  like  the  pulpitum ,  followed  the  line 
almost  universally  adopted  by  the  Imperial  archi¬ 
tects,  and  was  bent  into  a  semicircular  apse  in 
the  centre,  flanked  by  a  square  recess  on  either 
side.  In  the  centre  of  each  of  these  was  a  stair¬ 
case,  rising  from  the  stage  in  front,  and  dropping 
to  the  green  room,  or  part  reserved  for  the  actors, 
behind.  By  the  side  of  each  of  these  flights  of 
steps  were  four  pillars,  rising  to  the  height  of  the 
others,  but  resting  on  the  stage.  The  arcade  of 
pillars  undoubtedly  carried  a  cornice;  how  these 
large  pillars  were  crowned  is  uncertain:  perhaps 
they  carried  statues.  The  upper  storey  or  storeys 
of  the  scena  have  perished. 

Such  is  the  theatre  of  Dougga;  but  the  whole 

*Cic.,  Pro  Cluentio. 


Life  in  the  Town 


147 


place  is  so  interesting,  and  is  so  good  an  example 
of  a  prosperons  Roman  country  town,  as  to  de¬ 
serve  a  somewhat  more  detailed  notice  than  can 
be  given  by  a  description  of  the  separate  build¬ 
ings. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


A  COUNTRY  TOWN 

* 

The  journey  from  Tunis  to  Dougga  is  rather 
wearisome.  For  the  first  forty  miles  the  train 
takes  us  along  the  banks  of  the  Medjerba  to 
Medjez-el-Bab,  the  Roman  Membressa.  It  was  on 
the  plain,  south-east  of  Membressa,  that  in  a.d. 
536,  Relisarius  defeated  the  mutineers  under  his 
former  lieutenant  Stotzas.  Of  the  gateway  which 
gave  the  place  its  modern  name,  “The  Gate  of 
the  Ford,”  nothing  remains.  In  fact,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  capitals,  and  the  stones  of 
which  the  modern  bridge  has  been  constructed, 
nothing  remains  of  the  old  Roman  settlement.  The 
Arab  village  was  founded  in  the  fifteenth  century 
by  the  Moors  who  had  been  driven  from  Anda¬ 
lusia.  The  rest  of  the  journey,  lasting  six  to 
seven  hours,  has  to  be  made  in  a  covered  cart, 
called  by  courtesy  a  diligence. 

The  road  runs  along  the  lower  slopes  of  the 
Djebel  Hjebs,  between  which  and  the  Djebel  Krab 
the  Medjerba  flows,  through  Slouguia  (Chiddibia) 
to  Testour  (Tichilla).  Roth  these  villages  were 
also  founded  by  the  Moors  from  Spain.  The  open 
spaces,  the  wide  straight  streets,  the  tiled  houses 
with  pent  houses  in  front — above  all,  the  white 
complexion  of  the  Andlas,  as  the  inhabitants  are 

148 


A  Country  Town  149 

called,  give  the  villages  a  strangely  European  ap¬ 
pearance. 

Another  five  miles  and  we  reach  Ain  Tounga, 
which  once  bore  the  sonorous  name  of  Municipium 
Septimium  Aurelium  Antoninianum  Herculeum 
frugiferum  Thignicte.  The  ruins  are  very  exten¬ 
sive  and  interesting ;  they  include  temples  to  Mer¬ 
cury,  Saturn,  Coelestis,  and  an  unknown  deity; 
the  remains  of  cisterns,  a  triumphal  arch,  a 
church,  and  a  huge  Byzantine  fortress. 

Leaving  the  Siliana,  which  we  have  followed  for 
some  miles,  we  follow  the  Oued  Khalled  through 
Sustri  (Civitas  Sustritana)  and  Ain  Golea  to 
Teboursouk  (Thubursicum  Bure).  Here  we  stay 
for  the  night. 

Teboursouk  was  at  one  time  a  town  of  some 
importance,  but  little  of  the  old  Eoman  colony 
remains,  except  two  triumphal  arches,  which  have 
been  built  up  in  the  walls  of  the  vast  and  very 
interesting  Byzantine  fortress,  and  part  of  the 
old  city  wall.  It  is  built  high  up  against  the  rocky 
hill  of  Sidi  Bahma.  A  deep  ravine  protects  it  in 
front. 

From  Teboursouk  a  drive  of  about  six  miles 
brings  us  to  Dougga.  The  road  climbs  higher  and 
higher  along  the  flank  of  a  great  amphitheatre  of 
hills,  the  Kef  Teboursouk  and  the  Kef  Dougga,  to 
a  lofty  cape,  pushing  out  into  the  plain,  on  the 
farther  slope  of  which  the  ruined  city  lies.  Climb¬ 
ing  up  the  precipitous  side  of  the  hill  to  the  pla¬ 
teau  which  crowns  it,  we  find  ourselves  among  the 
scattered  dolmens  of  some  forgotten  race.  They 


150  Studies  in  North  Africa 

much  resemble  those  at  Boknia,  but  are  less  nu¬ 
merous,  less  perfect,  and  therefore  less  interest¬ 
ing.  Beyond  them  lies  the  spina  of  the  circus.  It 
was  two  hundred  yards  long,  but,  except  the  mete 
at  the  ends,  little  now  remains.  To  the  left  of  it 
lay  a  temple;  then  a  group  of  cisterns  fed  by  a 
little  aqueduct,  and  then  the  great  Byzantine  en¬ 
ceinte  which  ran  from  the  edge  of  the  precipice 
to  the  capitol,  which  crowned  the  other  slope  of 
the  hill. 

Scrambling  over  the  Byzantine  wall,  we  find 
ourselves  in  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  and  at  our 
feet,  low  down  by  the  side  of  the  road,  lies  an 
interesting  Christian  basilica,  built  with  the  stones 
of  the  old  temple.  It  must  have  been  a  pretty 
little  building  of  the  usual  type,  a  nave  with  aisles 
and  arcades  of  pillars,  and  a  semicircular  apse  at 
the  east  end;  two  flights  of  steps  led  up  to  the 
preshyterium ,  and  two  others  down  to  the  very 
perfect  crypt  below.  Several  sarcophagi  have 
been  found  in  situ ;  on  one  we  can  still  read  the 
name : 

VICTORIA  SANTIMONIALE  IN  PACE. 

Two  annexes  lie  to  the  north  and  to  the  south. 
Close  by  was  found  the  inscription  to  the  “Holy 
and  Happy  Martyrs, ??  printed  elsewhere.* 

A  few  steps  from  the  Temple  of  Saturn  bring 
us  to  the  great  central  entrance  to  the  arcade, 
which  encircled  the  topmost  row  of  seats  in  the 


*  Vide  p.  119. 


A  Country  Town  151 

theatre.  We  pass  on,  and  pause  for  a  moment 
to  look  at  one  of  the  most  beautiful  scenes  that 
North  Africa  has  to  sIioav. 

The  morning  had  been  wet,  and,  though  the  sun 
had  broken  through  and  was  shining  brightly, 
heavy  masses  of  cloud  still  floated  across  the  sky 
and  threw  dark  patches  of  purple  shadow  over 
hill  and  valley  before  us.  To  the  left  stretched 
the  long  fertile  Aralley  of  the  Oued  Khalled, 
through  which  ran  the  road  from  Carthage, 
through  Sicca  Yeneria  (Kef)  to  Theveste  (Te- 
bessa).  It  was  along  this  road  that  Matho  and 
Spendius  led  the  mutinous  mercenaries,  and  it 
was  here  that  they  found  the  multitude  of  crosses 
bearing  crucified  lions.  Somewhere  near  lay 
Zama.  Under  Roman  cultivation  it  must  have 
been  a  tract  of  immense  fertility,  as  indeed  is 
shoAvn  by  the  incredible  number  of  Roman  toAvns, 
villas,  and  stations  Avhich  lay  in  all  directions. 
Even  noAv  the  fields  of  wheat  and  barley,  the  vine¬ 
yards,  and  above  all  the  great  olive  gardens,  sIioav 
that  its  richness  is  returning.  On  the  other  side 
the  wide  open  valley  is  shut  in  by  the  heights  of 
the  Djebel  Abdullah  Cherid.  Higher  still,  in  the 
far  blue  distance,  start  up  the  wild  crags  of  Zag- 
houan. 

Close  in  front,  and  to  our  right,  lay  the  wonder¬ 
ful  ruins  of  the  Avealthy  Roman  toAvn,  Colonia  Li- 
cinia  Septimia  Aurelia  Alexandrina  TJiugga.  It 
took  its  name  from  the  Libyan  village  of  “Tucca,” 
“The  Pastures/ * 

Immediately  below  us,  just  outside  the  theatre, 


152  Studies  in  North  Africa 

lay  the  squalid  little  Arab  village  of  Dougga, 
which  unfortunately  occupies  much  of  the  site  of 
the  old  town.  In  a  sheltered  spot  close  by,  an 
Arab  sheik,  in  gorgeous  apparel,  was  exercising 
his  horse,  in  readiness  for  the  Fantasia  which  was 
to  be  held  at  Tunis  on  the  following  Sunday,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Bey  and  of  the  French  authori¬ 
ties.  The  horse  was  richly  caparisoned.  The 
head-piece,  blinkers,  and  reins,  and  the  high  sad¬ 
dle,  rising  almost  to  the  shoulders  of  the  rider, 
were  of  red  leather,  worked  in  gold.  The  feet 
rested  in  broad,  square  stirrups,  the  sharp  corners 
of  which  acted  as  spurs.  But  in  addition  to  these, 
the  rider  wore  murderous-looking  prick-spurs, 
nearly  a  foot  long,  with  which  he  could  stab  his 
unfortunate  horse  in  the  very  tenderest  places, 
and  make  it  prance  and  rear,  not  from  spirit,  but 
from  sheer  agony.  In  a  corner  against  a  wall 
squatted  a  musician,  to  the  sound  of  whose  pipes 
the  horseman  was  trying  to  make  his  horse  keep 
time.  All  round  stood  or  crouched  a  group  of 
natives,  watching  his  evolutions  with  the  languid 
curiosity  which  is  all  they  ever  vouchsafe  to  show. 

To  the  right  of  the  theatre  lies  the  Forum,  con¬ 
sisting,  not  of  a  single  court  as  at  Timgad,  but 
of  a  series  of  small  spaces,  esplanades,  and  stair¬ 
cases,  in  the  centre  of  which  stands  the  Capitol. 
We  follow  an  old  road,  only  partly  excavated.  To 
our  left  as  we  enter  the  Forum  is  a  little  semi¬ 
circular  shrine  dedicated  to  Pietas  Augusta. 
Close  by  are  the  foundations,  now  overgrown  with 
shrubs,  of  a  rectangular  building,  probably  a  Tern- 


153 


A  Country  Town 

pie  of  Fortune,  according  to  an  inscription  found 
close  by:  “Fortunae.  Ayg  Venebi  Concordia 
Mercvrio.  ?  ’ 

Thus  we  reach,  the  upper  court  of  the  Forum, 
called  the  Place  of  the  Rose  of  the  Winds.  In 
front  rises  the  wonderful  Capitol:  to  the  right 
lies  the  Temple  of  Mercury.  The  sanctuary  con¬ 
sisted  of  three  cells,  preceded  by  a  portico  of  ten 
pillars  carrying  a  long  inscription,  telling  us  how 
Quintus  Pacuvius  Saturus,  his  wife  Nahania  Vic¬ 
toria,  and  their  son  Felix  Victorianus  built  this 
Temple  to  Mercury.  Another  text  shows  that  it 
was  built  between  the  years  a.d.  160-220. 

On  the  pavement  of  the  Forum,  in  front  of  the 
temple,  is  cut  a  curious  chart  or  compass  of  the 
winds,  from  which  the  place  takes  its  name.  It 
is  a  large  circle,  divided  into  twenty-four  seg¬ 
ments.  In  every  other  one  of  these  is  carved  the 
name  of  the  wind  which  blew  from  that  quarter. 
Here  are  the  names :  Septentrio  (N.).  Aqvilo.  Ev- 

ROAQVILO.  VVLTVRNVS  (E.).  EvRVS.  XjEVCONOTVS. 

Avster  (S.).  Libonotvs.  Africvs.  Favonivs  (W.). 
Argestes.  Circivs. 

Beyond  the  Forum  stands  high  against  the  sky 
the  beautiful  portico  of  the  Capitol.  Then  past 
the  Arch  of  Severus,  known  as  the  Roman  Gate, 
Bab  er  Roumia,  and  beyond  another  cluster  of 
cisterns  fed  by  an  aqueduct,  fed  with  the  waters 
of  the  Ain-el-Hamman,  we  catch  a  glimpse 
through  its  sheltering  olives  of  the  lovely  Temple 
of  Ccelestis. 

A  little  below  the  Forum  rises  the  striking  gate- 


154  Studies  in  North  Africa 

way  of  the  Dar-el-Acheb,  or  House  of  Ahab,  as 
it  is  called  from  the  name  of  its  owner.  Its  former 
purpose  is  unknown. 

Immediately  in  front  of  us,  the  ground  drops 
so  abruptly  that  it  reaches  to  the  second  storey 
at  the  back,  of  houses  which  open  on  the  roadway 
in  front.  The  beautiful  mosaic  floors  of  many 
of  these  remain  in  situ.  Others  are  at  Tunis. 
Amongst  these  is  that  of  the  charioteer  “Eros” 
and  a  very  large  one  of  three  colossal  Cyclopes 
working  in  the  cavern-forge  of  Vulcan.  The  mo¬ 
saic  is  much  injured,  but  the  Cyclopes  are  almost 
perfect.  They  are  wielding  sledge-hammers.  The 
hammer  of  one  has  just  struck  the  anvil.  The 
second  holds  his  high  over  his  head  poised  in  the 
very  act  of  bringing  it  down.  The  third  is  lean¬ 
ing  backwards  with  his  hammer  thrown  behind 
him,  gathering  his  full  strength  for  the  stroke. 
The  rhythmical  swing  of  the  three  hammers  is 
admirable;  while,  for  the  freedom  and  vigour  of 
its  figure-drawing,  this  wonderful  mosaic  deserves 
to  rank  with  a  fresco  of  Michael  Angelo. 

Perhaps  the  most  beautiful  of  these  houses  is 
that  which  is  called,  from  the  shape  of  one  of  its 
rooms,  “The  Trefoil.”  The  house  consists  of  a 
court  planted  with  trees  and  shrubs,  and  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  portico  formed  of  columns  covered 
with  stucco,  on  which  rested  a  wooden  ceiling. 
The  floor  is  covered  with  a  rich  pavement  of  mo¬ 
saics,  representing  two  masques,  tragic  and  comic, 
a  pigeon,  and  leafy  vine  branches  encircling  a 
horse.  The  house  is  approached  from  behind  by 


A  Country  Town  155 

a  beautiful  staircase  with  landings  enriched  with 
mosaics. 

To  our  right  as  we  descend  the  hill  lie  the  great 
public  thermae,  supplied  with  water  by  cisterns 
which  are  themselves  fed  by  an  aqueduct.  To 
our  left  are  the  imposing  ruins  of  another  arch 
to  Septimius  Severus. 

Passing  on,  through  an  olive  garden  in  which 
are  the  remains  of  some  huge  dolmen  tombs, 
formed  of  dressed  stones,  and  of  a  much  later  date 
than  those  near  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  we  see  the 
imposing  mass  of  the  great  Libico-Punic  mauso¬ 
leum  of  Ataban,  about  which  so  much  has  been 
said.  Surrounded  by  olives  of  immemorial  age* 
it  looks  out  calmly  over  the  green  valley  and  on 
the  great  road,  first  made  when  itself  was  old, 
along  which  so  many  civilisations  have  stormed 
and  passed  away,  leaving  the  old  Berber  stock  al¬ 
most  where  and  as  they  found  if. 


CHAPTER  IX 


LACHRYM1ZE  ECCLESIiE,  A.D.  150-391. 

The  beginnings  of  Christianity  in  North  Africa 
are  lost  beyond  the  reach,  not  merely  of  history, 
but  even  of  tradition  or  legend.  All  we  can  say 
is  that,  when  light  first  breaks  in,  late  in  the 
second  century,  we  find  a  vigorous  and  active 
Church,  widely  spread  and  fully  organised,  with 
bishops  in  all  the  important  towns.  Agrippinus, 
Bishop  of  Carthage,  summoned*  a  synod  of 
seventy.  In  general  character  it  resembled  the 
Eastern  churches,  such  as  those  of  Asia  Minor, 
more  than  the  Church  of  Rome,  especially  in  the 
position  assigned  to  the  bishops,  which  was,  at 
any  rate  after  the  time  of  Cyprian,  essentially 
autocratic  and  monarchic,  rather  than  constitu¬ 
tional,  as  it  has  always  been  at  Rome;  no  body 
of  priests,  for  instance,  ever  claimed  or  gained 
the  position  occupied  at  the  Imperial  city  by  the 
College  of  Cardinals.  It  treated  with  Rome  as  a 
sister  Church ;  sometimes  submitting  to  it  its  diffi¬ 
culties  for  solution,  sometimes  itself  called  in  to 
give  its  decision  in  some  difficult  case.  Thus  in 
the  time  of  Cyprian  a.d.  251,  the  claims  of  the 
rival  Popes,  Novatianus  and  Cornelius,  were  re- 

*  Circ.  a.d.  215. 

156 


Lachrymae  Ecclesise,  a.d.  150-39 i  157 

ferred  to  him  for  adjudication.  The  Church  was 
Eastern  too,  in  its  fiery  turbulence  and  restless 
activity,  but  with  the  great  difference  that  the 
questions  which  divided  it  were  not  intellectual, 
but  disciplinary. 

The  history  of  the  Church  gathers  round  three 
or  four  outstanding  men — the  fiery  apologist,  Ter- 
tullian ;  the  great  Bishop,  Cyprian ;  the  schismatic, 
Donatus;  the  learned  theologian,  Augustine.  It 
will  give  coherence  as  well  as  colour  and  interest 
to  what  follows,  to  make  it  centre,  so  far  as  pos¬ 
sible,  in  these  names. 

Tertullian  was  born  at  Carthage  about  the  year 
a.d.  150,  and  died  there  about  sixty  years  later; 
that  is  all  we  know.  His  father  was  a  Proconsular 
centurion ;  he  himself  was  brought  up  to  be  a  law¬ 
yer.  He  was  converted  to  Christianity  in  the 
year  a.d.  192,  and  ordained  deacon  and  priest ;  in 
a.d.  199  he  joined  the  schism  of  Montanus,  driven 
to  it,  he  says,  by  the  envy  and  contumeliousness 
of  the  clergy.  Such,  in  bare  outline,  was  his  life. 
Its  importance  lies  in  the  period  it  covered,  and 
in  the  writings  which  his  surroundings  called 
forth. 

The  Golden  Age  of  the  Empire  died  with  Mar¬ 
cus  Aurelius  in  a.d.  180.  The  Age  of  Iron  began 
with  his  son,  Commodus,  the  Gladiator.  Still, 
both  he  and  his  successors,  Pertinax  and  Didius 
Julianus,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  made  by  the  priest¬ 
esses  of  Ccelestis  to  influence  Pertinax,  were 
friendly,  or  at  least  neutral,  towards  Christianity. 
With  Septimus  Severus  (a.d.  193-211)  began  the 


158  Studies  in  North  Africa 

military  despotism,  and  with  it  a  time  of  persecu¬ 
tion. 

Severus  was  a  Berber,  born  at  Leptis,  and 
raised  to  the  purple  by  his  army.  Not  unnat¬ 
urally,  he  relied  upon  the  army  which  had  placed 
him  on  the  throne.  “Enrich  the  soldiers,”  he 
said;  “never  mind  the  others.”  His  interest  in 
North  Africa,  and  her  pride  in  him,  are  writ  large 
on  the  face  of  the  country,  in  the  many  triumphal 
arches  erected  in  his  honour,  at  Tebessa,  Lam- 
bessa,  the  two  great  camps  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Aures,  at  Haidra  (Ammsedara),  Dougga,  and  else¬ 
where.  During  the  civil  war  which  occupied  the 
first  years  of  his  reign,  he  was  busy  about  other 
things,  and  the  Church  in  Italy  had  peace ;  but  in 
Africa  there  were  intervals  of  sharp  and  cruel 
persecution.  At  last,  with  peace  to  the  Empire, 
came  times  of  trouble  to  the  Church;  in  a.d.  198, 
when  Vigellius  Saturninus  was  Proconsul,  the 
sword  was  definitely  unsheathed. 

The  apology,  or  defence  of  Christianity,  which 
this  called  forth,  is  the  best  known  and  most  fa¬ 
mous  of  all  the  writings  of  Tertullian,  and  this 
not  merely  because  of  its  impassioned  eloquence 
and  vigour  and  dialectical  skill.  More  remarkable 
than  any  of  these  is  the  tone  adopted  and  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  any  “apology”  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  word.  There  is  no  plea  for  mercy,  but  a  de¬ 
mand  for  justice;  no  cry  for  pardon  for  hidden 
crime  or  disloyalty,  but  a  claim  for  praise  and 
honour  for  conspicuous  virtue.  Christians  are 


Lachrymse  Ecclesiae,  A.D.  150-39 1  159 

the  best  citizens,*  the  truest  patriots.  It  is  in 
such  paradoxes  as  these  that  he  delights ;  we  find 
them  on  every  page:  4 4 Lie  to  be  true,”  “God  is 
great  when  little”;  or,  to  take  the  most  celebrated 
of  them  all,  “The  Son  of  God  died;  it  is  credible 
because  it  is  foolishness;  buried,  He  rose  again; 
it  is  certain  because  it  is  impossible.”  “Mortuus 
est  Dei  Filius ,  prorsus  credible  est  quia  ineptum 
est;  Et  sepultus  resurrexit,  cerium  est  quia  im¬ 
possible  est.”  Well  may  Pusey  say  of  him,  “His 
writings  were  thunderbolts,  the  fire  which  kindles 
and  the  beacon  which  warns”;  or,  in  his  own 
words,  “0  wretched  man  that  I  am,  always  con¬ 
sumed  with  the  fever  of  impatience.”  “ Miserri - 
mus  ego ,  semper  ceger  caloribus  impatientice.” 
It  is  easy  to  understand  why  he  set  so  deep  a 
stamp  upon  the  character  of  the  African  Church, 
and  how  it  was  that  men  like  Cyprian  and  Augus¬ 
tine  fell  so  completely  under  his  sway. 

To  fight  against  them  is  useless;  to  destroy 
them  is  impossible;  they  multiply  under  persecu¬ 
tion,  and,  in  his  own  great  words,  “the  blood  of 
Christians  is  the  seed”  of  the  Church.  With 
fierce  eloquence  he  defends  God  Himself  for  per¬ 
mitting  persecution  and  martyrdom.  It  is  not 
death — it  is  salvation;  God  is  killing  death  by 
death,  and  is  justified  in  doing  so.  “What  you 

*“We  are  made  brothers/’  he  declares,  “by  those  very  ques¬ 
tions  of  money  which  with  you  set  brother  against  brother.  We 
are  of  one  heart  and  soul;  that  is  why  we  are  so  ready  to  share 
our  goods  one  with  another.  We  have  everything  in  common, 
except  our  women.”  ( Apol .  39.) 


160  Studies  in  North  Africa 


call  perversity,  I  call  reason;  what  you  call 
cruelty,  I  call  kindness.’ ’  “ Perversitas  quam 

putas  Ratio  est,  quod  scevitiam  cestimas  Gratia 
est.” 

A  very  Malleus  Ecereticorum ,  his  pen  was  al¬ 
ways  at  the  service  of  the  Church,  even  after  his 
own  lapse  into  the  schism  of  Montanus. 

Whatever  his  subject,  he  was  always  vehement, 
always  in  extremes,  often  powerful.  Sometimes 
he  descended  to  personalities.  In  his  answer  to 
a  painter,  Hermogenes,  who  had  ventured  to  write 
a  pamphlet  in  defence  of  Gnosticism,  “If  your 
pictures,”  he  says,  “are  like  your  book,  you  are 
the  sorriest  painter  that  ever  lived.” 

Later  on  the  Church  itself  came  in  for  its  share 
of  castigation.  How  far  the  assault  was  deserved, 
or  what  deduction  we  must  make  for  a  constitu¬ 
tional  tendency  to  exaggeration,  it  is  difficult  to 
say.  A  few  quotations  may  be  given. 

Christians  who  escape  persecution  by  flight  or 
payment:  “I  do  not  know  whether  to  weep  or 
blush  when  I  see  on  the  police  lists,  among  publi¬ 
cans,  pickpockets,  thieves,  gamblers,  and  pimps, 
the  fines  paid  by  Christians.  I  suppose  that  the 
Apostles  organised  the  episcopate  provisonally, 
in  order  that  the  bishops  might  enjoy  the  revenues 
of  their  sees  in  safety,  under  pretence  of  ruling 
them.”  As  to  the  poor  laity:  “Their  guides 
themselves — deacons,  priests,  and  bishops — are  in 
full  flight;  now  the  people  know  what  is  meant 
by  ‘flee  from  one  city  to  another.’  When  the  of¬ 
ficers  desert,  who  among  the  crowd  of  soldiers 


Lachrymas  Ecclesiae,  a.d.  150-39 1  161 

will  dare  advise  others  to  keep  their  ranks  ?”  As 
to  these  officers:  “Doubtless  they  are  packing 
their  boxes,  to  be  ready  to  fly  ‘from  city  to  city’; 
that  is  the  only  text  they  remember  well;  .  .  . 
their  pastors !  I  know  them ;  lions  in  peace,  stags 
in  war.”* 

He  deals  with  equal  faithfulness  with  the  Pope. 
“Whence  did  you  receive  the  rights  you  usurp  for 
your  Church?  Do  you  pretend  to  believe  that  you 
have  inherited  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing 
— that  is  to  say,  you  and  the  Church  which  traces 
up  to  Peter?  Who  are  you  who  destroy  and  alter 
the  manifest  intention  of  our  Lord,  who  gave  this 
power  to  Peter  personally!  How  does  all  this 
apply  to  the  Church,  at  any  rate  to  yours,  0  man 
of  the  flesh  ?”f 

To  attend  the  games  was  to  go  “  de  ccelo  in 
coenum “from  the  sky  to  the  sty.” 

For  the  benefit  of  theatre-goers,  he  relates  how 
a  woman  once  came  home  from  the  theatre  pos¬ 
sessed  of  a  devil;  and  how  the  evil  spirit,  when 
cast  out,  complained  bitterly,  protesting  that  he 
had  every  right  to  her,  as  he  had  found  her  tres¬ 
passing  on  his  domain.  “In  meo  earn  inveni.”% 

Under  Hilarion,  a.d.  202-203,  persecution  broke 
out  again.  The  occasion  seems  to  have  been  the 
refusal  of  a  Christian  soldier  to  accept  the  laurel 
crown  ( donativum )  presented  by  Severus  and 
Caracalla;§  but  it  took  a  new  form — the  refusal 
to  Christian  dead  of  their  own  proper  place  of 


*  Be  Fuga,  11-13. 
t  Be  Sped. 


t  Be  Pudic.,  21. 
§  Be  Corona. 


1 62  Studies  in  North  Africa 


burial:  “Area  non  sint,”  “No  cemeteries.”  Sev- 
erus  had  given  leave  to  all  classes  to  form  burial 
clubs,  and  the  Christians  took  advantage  of  this 
permission  to  register  themselves  as  an  associa¬ 
tion  of  this  kind,  and  so  bring  themselves  and 
their  places  of  meeting  under  the  protection  of 
the  law,  and  become  possessed  of  a  cemetery  of 
their  own.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Christians 
were  using  the  law  for  a  purpose  for  which  it  was 
never  intended ;  but  it  was  equally  true  that  their 
persecutors  stretched  the  law  also;  for  the  edict 
of  Severus  did  not  condemn  a  man  for  being  a 
Jew  or  a  Christian,  but  only  for  becoming  one — 
it  was  intended  to  prevent  proselytising.  “Ju- 
deeos  fieri”  (not  esse )  “sub  gravi  poena  vetuit. 
Idem  etiam  de  Christianis  sanxit.”  Under  Julius 
Aspar  there  was  peace  for  some  five  or  six  years ; 
on  the  death  of  Severus,  trouble  broke  out  again. 

Some  five  or  six  years  after  Tertullian’s  death, 
about  the  year  a.d.  220,  Was  born  a  disciple  who 
was  to  prove  greater  than  his  master,  Thascius 
Cyprianus.  He  was  a  man  of  rank,  position  and 
wealth.  His  home  was  at  La  Marsa,  the  pleasant 
valley  which  leads  down  to  the  sea  between  the 
Beacon  Hill  of  Cape  Carthage  and  the  heights  of 
Djebel  Khaoui  and  Kamart.  Then,  as  now,  it  was 
the  pleasantest  and  most  fashionable  suburb  of 
Carthage.  Large-minded,  generous  in  money 
matters,  eloquent,  able,  popular,  and  ambitious, 
he  lived  for  five  and  twenty  years  the  ordinary 
life  of  a  Boman  gentleman.  Then  in  the  year 
a.d.  245  he  was  converted  to  Christianity  by  an 


Lachrymse  Ecclesiae,  a.d.  150-391  163 

old  priest,  Caecilianus,  and  baptized  by  tbe  name 
of  Caecilius,  after  the  man  to  whom  he  owed  his 
conversion.  He  at  once  sold  his  estates  and  villa 
at  La  Marsa  and  gave  the  money  to  the  poor.  His 
friends  bought  in  the  villa,  but  he  was  with  dif¬ 
ficulty  restrained  from  selling  it  again.  It  was 
to  this  villa  that  he  was  confined  just  before  his 
martyrdom.  Four  years  later,  in  a.d.  249.  the 
unanimous  voice  of  the  people,  never  more  truly 
than  on  that  day  the  voice  of  God,  called  him, 
sorely  against  his  will,  to  the  difficult,  dangerous, 
and  thankless  post  of  Archbishop  of  Carthage  and 
Pope  of  the  African  Church. 

But  with  these  had  come,  perhaps  inevitably,  a 
widespread  relaxation  of  discipline;  and  the  dis¬ 
orders  and  scandals  within  the  Church,  which  had 
driven  Tertullian  into  schism,  had  grown  rank 
and  monstrous. 

In  a.d.  249  Decius  became  Emperor,  and  in  the 
following  year  he  promulgated  an  edict  requiring 
all  Christians  formally  to  recant  within  a  certain 
time.  Many  stood  firm;  the  names  or  office  of 
some  of  these  are  known ;  a  young  reader  endured 
torture  and  exile;  a  priest,  Numidicus,  Paulus, 
Mappalicus,  Celerinus,  and  others  sealed  their 
faith  with  their  blood;  but  the  falling  away  was 
general.  Hay  after  day,  Byrsa  was  besieged  by 
crowds  of  Christians  thronging  to  make  their  sub¬ 
mission  before  the  time  of  grace  expired. 

Cyprian  fled  and  remained  in  hiding  for  six¬ 
teen  months,  until  the  worst  was  over.  Doubtless 
he  was  right — his  life  was  of  more  value  to  the 


/ 


164  Studies  in  North  Africa 

Church  than  his  death.  Doubtless  also,  to  a  man 
of  his  proud  nature  and  dauntless  courage,  to 
live  under  the  stigma  of  cowardice  was  far  harder 
than  to  face  the  danger,  and,  if  necessary,  to  die. 
During  his  absence,  a  violent  opposition  to  his 
return  sprang  up  under  a  certain  Felicissimus.  A 
terrible  pestilence  which  broke  out  soon  after,  in 
which  Cyprian  showed  himself  a  very  Carlo  Bor- 
romeo  in  his  generosity,  courage,  and  loving  care 
of  the  sufferers,  whether  Christian  or  not,  made 
his  position  unassailable. 

In  a  letter  written  at  that  terrible  time,  he  ex¬ 
horts  his  flock  to  courage,  faith,  and  resignation, 
and  bids  them  not  to  weep  too  sorely  over  those 
who  die:  “We  have  not  lost  them;  they  have  only 
gone  before.  Like  travellers  we  may  regret  their 
departure,  but  not  lament  over  them.  Put  on  no 
mourning  here  for  those  who,  on  high,  are  clothed 
in  white.  There,  on  high,  await  us  our  parents, 
our  brothers,  our  children,  who  in  serried  ranks 
lament  our  absence;  sure  of  their  own  salvation, 
they  are  only  anxious  about  ours.  What  joy  for 
them  to  see  us  again  and  embrace  us !  There  you 
will  see  the  glorious  company  ( chorus )  of  the 
Apostles,  the  army  of  prophets,  the  innumerable 
throngs  of  crowned  martyrs,  virgins  who  have 
overcome  the  temptations  of  the  flesh  and  of  the 
body,  the  charitable  who  have  exchanged  the  good 
things  of  this  world  for  the  treasures  of 
heaven. 

Then  came  the  end.  The  legions  in  Gaul  had 

*  Be  Mart. 


Lachrymae  Ecclesiae,  a.d.  15 0-391  165 

made  Valerian  Emperor  (a.d.  253),  a  man  whom 
all  thought  worthy  of  reigning  until  he  reigned 
— “vir  omnium  consensu  capax  imperii  nisi  im- 
per  asset”* — as  Tacitus  says  of  Galba.  In  Au¬ 
gust  a.d.  257,  he  issued  a  first  edict  of  persecution, 
closing  the  cemeteries,  forbidding  all  assemblages 
of  Christians,  and  ordering  all  to  join  in  the  of¬ 
ficial  worship.  On  August  30  the  Proconsul, 
Paternus,  summoned  Cyprian  before  him,  and  on 
his  refusal  to  conform,  banished  him  to  Curubis 
(Kourba)  across  the  Gulf,  on  the  east  coast  of 
Cape  Bon.  There  he  remained  for  nearly  a  year. 
It  was  at  Curubis  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  that 
he  composed  his  last  treatise,  an  exhortation  to 
martyrdom. 

In  July  of  the  following  year,  a.d.  258,  from  the 
far  east  where  he  was  fighting,  Valerian  issued 
another  edict  more  terrible  still,  aimed  directly 
at  the  heads  of  the  Church.  To  this  persecution 
belong  the  massacres  at  Utica,  known  as  the 
Massa  Candida,  the  martyrdom  of  Tlieogones, 
Bishop  of  HipjJo,  of  Jacobus  and  Marianus  at 
Cirta,  of  Lucius,  Montanus,  Julianus,  Victorinus, 
Flavianus,  and  others  at  Carthage. 

At  last  the  Proconsul,  Galerius  Flavianus,  was 
compelled  to  take  action  against  Cyprian  himself. 
He  had  already  recalled  him  from  Curubis  and 
confined  him  to  his  villa  at  La  Marsa,  in  the  ear¬ 
nest  hope,  we  cannot  help  thinking,  that  he  would 
seize  the  opportunity  thus  offered  him  and  escape. 
This  time,  however,  the  path  of  duty  was  clear, 
*  Hist.  i.  49. 


1 66  Studies  in  North  Africa 


and  Cyprian  refused  to  fly.  “A  bishop,’ ’  he  said, 
“must  confess  his  Lord  among  his  flock.”  On 
September  13  he  was  brought  to  the  Villa  of 
Sextus  (ad  Sexti)  at  La  Marsa,  near  the  site  of 
the  present  British  Consulate,  to  which  the  Pro- 
consul  had  retired  on  account  of  illness.  Flavi- 
anus  was,  however,  too  unwell  to  conduct  the  trial 
on  that  day,  and  he  was  remanded.  He  passed 
the  night  with  his  friends  in  the  quarters  of  the 
chief  officer  who  had  charge  of  him,  in  or  near 
the  Proconsular  Palace  on  Byrsa.  In  the  morn¬ 
ing  he  walked  back  to  the  Ager  Sexti,  a  distance 
of  about  two  miles,  and  was  taken  to  a  large  hall, 
called  the  Atrium  Sauciolum,  where  the  trial  took 
place.  The  officer  in  charge,  seeing  that  his  robes 
were  wet  with  perspiration,  offered  him  others. 
“ Never  mind,”  replied  the  Bishop,  “all  will  be 
set  right  to-day. 9  9 

The  Proconsul  was  surrounded  by  his  guard  of 
the  famous  Third  Legion.  The  trial  was  short 
and  dignified,  worthy  of  two  men  who  respected 
and,  perhaps,  knew  and  liked  one  another. 

“Are  you  Thascius  Cyprianus!” — “I  am” 

“Pope  of  these  impious  men!” — “I  am.” 

‘  ‘  The  holy  Emperors  order  you  to  sacrifice. 9  9 — 
“I  will  not  sacrifice.” 

“Be  on  your  guard.”  (“Consule  tibi.”) — “Do 
what  you  are  commanded  to  do.  In  so  clear  a  case 
there  is  no  room  for  hesitation.” 

The  Proconsul  then  pronounced  sentence  of 
death.  Cyprian  replied,  ‘ 4  Thanks  be  to  God. 9  9 

He  was  led  out  to  a  spot  not  far  from  the  house, 


Lachrymae  Ecclesiae,  a.d.  150-391  167 

evidently  frequently  nsed  for  execntions,  for  the 
people  knew  the  spot  and  had  assembled  in  multi¬ 
tudes  to  see  the  death  of  the  friend  and  benefactor 
of  all,  the  foremost  citizen  of  Carthage.  Arrived 
at  the  place,  he  held  the  handkerchief  to  his  eyes, 
and  as  it  was  being  tied,  he  bade  his  friends,  in  his 
lordly  way,  give  twenty-live  pieces  of  gold  (£15) 
to  the  executioner.  Utterly  overcome,  perhaps  by 
the  vast  concourse  of  people,  perhaps  by  the  gen¬ 
erosity  and  dignity  of  the  great  man  he  was  called 
upon  to  kill,  the  soldier  was  unable  to  hold  the 
sword;  the  centurion  took  it  from  his  trembling 
hand  and  struck  the  blow.* 

So  died  Cyprian.  He  was  thirty-eight  years 
old;  he  had  been  a  Christian  for  fourteen  years, 
and  a  bishop  for  nine. 

All  day  his  body  lay  where  he  had  died.  In  the 
evening  the  Christians  were  allowed  to  remove  it, 
and  with  great  pomp  and  many  torches  bore  it  to 
the  cemetery  of  Macrobius  Candi dianus  (“ad 
areas  Macrobii”),  near  the  huge  cisterns  of  Malga 
(juxta  piscinas ),  where  it  was  buried.  The  exact 
spot  is  unknown,  but  a  cross  has  been  erected  on 
the  little  mound  known  as  the  Koudiat  Sousou, 
near  the  cisterns,  in  memory  of  the  greatest  of  all 
North  African  Churchmen. 

The  wild,  untamable  Berber  nature,  with  its 
incapacity  for  sustained  unity  of  action,  its  de¬ 
vouring  passion  for  freedom,  and  its  love  of 
extremes,  rendered  the  problems  which  faced 

*  Archbishop  Benson,  in  his  Life  of  Cyprian,  was  the  first  to 
notice  this  incident. 


168  Studies  in  North  Africa 


Cyprian  and  those  who  came  after  him  very  dif¬ 
ferent  from  those  which  had  to  be  dealt  with  else¬ 
where.  The  righteous  anger  of  Tertullian  at  the 
evils  which  he  saw  in  the  Church  drove  him  first 
into  the  schism  of  Montanus,  and  then  into  prac¬ 
tical  isolation ;  and  this  was  only  the  beginning  of 
that  spirit  of  uncompromising  and  inflexible  in¬ 
tolerance  which  rent  the  Church  asunder.  A  man 
who  will  not  forgive  must  himself  need  no  for¬ 
giveness,  and  this  certainly  was  not  the  case  with 
those  whom  we  know  as  Donatists,  men  who  had 
only  reached  the  familiar  level  of  those  who  have 
religion  enough  to  make  them  hate,  but  not 
enough  to  make  them  love  one  another. 

So  matters  remained  during  the  years  of  com¬ 
parative  peace  which  elapsed  between  the  death 
of  the  great  Archbishop  and  the  persecution  or¬ 
dered  by  Diocletian,  a.d.  293. 

In  a.d.  315  Majorinus  died,  and  his  place  was 
taken  by  Donatus,  from  whom  the  whole  move¬ 
ment  took  its  name.  He  was  a  man  of  great  learn¬ 
ing  and  ability,  eloquent  and  earnest,  but  hard, 
proud,  unloving,  and  overbearing.  Now  also  the 
Donatists,  in  their  struggle  against  the  authority 
of  the  Emperor,  began  to  make  common  cause 
with  the  Circumcelliones,*  who  were  destined 
from  thenceforth  to  be  both  the  strength  and  the 
scandal  of  the  party. 

The  origin  of  this  wild  sect  of  fanatics  is  un¬ 
known.  They  are  supposed  to  have  got  their 
name  from  their  habit  of  wandering  from  house 

*  Or  1 1  Agonistici  ’  ’  as  they  preferred  to  call  themselves. 


Lachrymae  Ecclesiae,  a.d.  150-391  169 

to  house  begging,  like  the  Marabouts  of  to-day. 
Their  distinguishing  marks  were  their  wild  ex¬ 
travagances,  and  their  contempt  for  life — their 
own  or  anybody  else’s.  In  the  distant  villages  of 
Numidia  and  Mauretania,  amongst  a  savage,  half¬ 
nomad  race,  never  really  subdued  to  Eome,  and 
only  half  converted  to  Christianity,  their  doc¬ 
trines  were  received  with  enthusiasm.  Driven 
from  their  homes  by  the  officers  of  justice,  the 
wild  peasantry  dropped  easily  and  gladly  back 
into  a  nomad  life  of  idleness  and  plunder.  Carry¬ 
ing  no  swords,  for  these  they  held  to  be  forbidden 
by  Divine  authority,  but  armed  with  heavy  clubs 
which  they  called  Israelites ,  they  haunted  the 
fringe  of  the  desert  in  marauding  gangs  which 
were  the  terror  of  the  open  country.  As  with 
David  in  Adullam,  ‘ 4  Every  one  that  was  in  dis¬ 
tress,  and  every  one  that  was  in  debt,  and  every 
one  that  was  discontented  gathered  themselves 
unto”*  them.  Giving  and  receiving  no  quarter, 
they  were  not  afraid  to  meet  even  the  Imperial 
troops  in  open  battle.  Their  contempt  for  law 
and  order  was  only  equalled  by  their  scorn  and 
hatred  of  their  brother  Christians.  Every  con¬ 
vert  was  rebaptized,  after  doing  open  penance. 
If  a  church  fell  into  their  hands,  the  walls  were 
scraped,  the  wooden  Altar  burnt,  the  holy  vessels 
melted,  and  the  consecrated  elements  given  to  the 
dogs. 

Tired  out  with  their  excesses,  and  despairing 
of  gaining  peace  by  force,  Constantine  exhorted 


*  1  Sam.  xxii.  2. 


170  Studies  in  North  Africa 

the  Proconsul  Ursaeius  to  try  to  come  to  terms 
with  them,  but  their  only  reply  was  that  they 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  “his  fool  of  a 
Bishop.’ ’  In  a.d.  330  Donatus  held  a  synod  at 
which  two  hundred  and  seventy  bishops  were 
present.  Soon  his  followers,  representing  as  they 
did  the  cause  of  opposition  to  the  hated  authority 
of  Rome,  became  the  popular  party  throughout 
North  Africa. 

Meanwhile  the  links  which  bound  Africa  to 
Rome  were  wearing  very  thin.  Driven  to  despair 
by  the  enormities  of  the  Roman  Governor,  Ro- 
manus  Firmus  (a.d.  366),  one  of  the  most  power¬ 
ful  of  the  Berber  princes,  raised  a  revolt  in  the 
west,  which  it  needed  the  presence  of  Theodosius 
himself,  fresh  from  his  triumphs  in  Britain,  to 
quell;  a  service  to  the  Empire  which  was  repaid 
by  his  judicial  murder  at  Carthage. 

It  is  strange  that  of  the  three  great  men  who 
made  the  Church  of  Africa  illustrious,  no  one 
was  born  or  brought  up  a  Christian.  Two  were 
frankly  pagan,  and  the  third  a  Manichee.  For 
our  present  purpose,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the 
teaching  of  Manes  was  an  attempt  to  graft  on 
Christianity  the  Persian  doctrine  of  the  eternity 
of  Evil  as  well  as  of  Good,  each  being  the  attri¬ 
bute  of  an  eternal  principle  or  God.  Although 
under  the  teaching  of  Ambrose  of  Milan,  Augus¬ 
tine  escaped  from  this  heresy,  his  views  to  the  end 
were  strongly  influenced  by  it.  Of  his  doctrines 
of  predestination,  acquiesced  in  by  the  Church 
when  presented  under  the  aggis  of  the  saint,  but 


Lachrymse  Ecclesiae,  a.d.  150-391  171 

repudiated  when  they  were  revived  by  Jansenius 
and  developed  logically  by  Calvin,  we  need  say 
nothing;  but  his  views  as  to  the  inherent  evil  of 
matter,  both  of  the  world  and  of  the  body,  concern 
us  because  they  led  him  to  introduce,  and,  so  far 
as  he  was  able,  to  develop,  monasticism  in  Africa. 
Ambrose  had  influenced  him  profoundly;  his 
teaching  had  made  him  a  Christian,  and  the  splen¬ 
dour  of  his  rule  at  Milan  made  him  through  life 
a  model  to  his  young  convert.  Especially  Augus¬ 
tine  had  seen  there  and  studied  at  first  hand  the 
practice  of  the  monastic  life,  which,  with  its  aus¬ 
terities  and  its  implied  teaching  that  holiness  could 
only  be  sought  in  separation  from  an  evil  world 
and  the  crushing  of  the  appetites  of  the  body, 
appealed  strongly,  not  only  to  his  ardent  African 
temperament,  but  also  to  the  taint  of  the  old  Mani- 
chean  teaching  from  which  he  never  wholly  freed 
himself.  On  his  return  to  Africa,  he  resolved  to 
put  in  practice  what  he  had  seen  and  admired. 
Arrived  at  his  old  home  and  birthplace  at  Souk 
Ahras  (Thagaste),  he  sold  his  possessions,  with 
the  exception  of  a  house  near  the  gate  of  the  city ; 
there  he  installed  himself  with  his  two  friends, 
Alypius  and  Evodius.  Later  he  founded  a  regu¬ 
lar  monastery  at  Hippo,  in  a  house  put  at  his  dis¬ 
posal  by  the  Bishop  Valerius,  by  whom  he  was 
ordained  priest,  a.d.  391.  Several  bishops  were 
chosen  from  among  the  inmates,  Augustine  him¬ 
self  among  the  number,  and  these  carried  the  rule 
into  their  dioceses.  Supported  by  the  great  name 
of  Augustine,  such  establishments  spread  with 


172  Studies  in  North  Africa 

extraordinary  rapidity.  Fulgentius  founded  four 
in  the  Byzacene — one  in  the  mountains  of  Mididi ; 
another  at  Buspce  near  Sfax;  a  third  on  the  is¬ 
lands  of  Kerkennah,  on  the  coast  of  Tunisia,  off 
Sfax,  famous  as  the  place  of  refuge  for  Hannibal, 
and  perhaps  even  more  as  being  the  fabled  home 
of  Circe,  as  Djerba,  a  little  farther  south,  was  of 
the  Lotus  Eaters;  the  site  of  the  fourth  is  not 
known.  By  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  Car¬ 
thage  had  its  convents,  and  soon  the  country  was 
covered  with  them.  At  Lamta  ( Leptis  Minor), 
Sousse  (Hadrume turn ) ,  on  the  islands  of  El  Kneis 
and  Thabarka;  near  the  present  Kairouan;  at 
Kairin  and  Monastir;  at  Sbeitla  ( Sufetula )  and 
Haidra  (Ammcedara) ;  at  Tebessa  and  Timgad. 
That  at  Timgad  is  now  in  course  of  excavation; 
it  is  remarkable  for  the  grandeur  of  the  church 
and  the  richness  of  the  mosaics  of  the  baptistery ; 
that  at  Tebessa,  the  most  important  of  all,  is  de¬ 
scribed  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  X 


CADAVER  URBIS  * 

Carthage 

Before  saying  farewell  to  Carthage,  let  ns  climb 
the  steep  street  of  Sidi  bon  Said,  which  lies  on 
the  slope  of  Cape  Carthage, f  and  from  the  light¬ 
house,  which  has  taken  the  place  of  the  old 
Pharos,  look  out  on  the  scene  of  the  tragedy  of 
nearly  three  thousand  years. 

With  the  exception  of  the  village  below  ns,  and 
of  certain  buildings  which  Cardinal  Lavigerie 
erected  on  Byrsa  and  elsewhere,  all  must  now  be 
strangely  like  what  Elissar  saw  before  the  first 
stone  of  her  city  was  laid.  Beyond  the  fan¬ 
shaped  peninsula  where  Carthage  stood,  we  look 
over  the  isthmus  between  the  Lake  of  Tunis  and 
the  Sebka  er  Riana  to  the  range  of  Djebel  Sidi 
Ahmor  which  cut  it  off  from  the  mainland.  Where 
the  mountains  touch  the  lake,  lie  the  white  houses 
and  domes  of  Tunis  between  the  waters  of  the 
lake  on  one  side  and  those  of  the  Sebka  er  Sed- 
joumi  on  the  other.  Farther  to  the  left,  over  La 
Goulette,  the  palisades  which  shut  in  the  lake,  lie 
the  little  watering-places  of  Rades  (Maxula)  and 

*“Uno  loco  tot  oppidum  cadavera  projeeta  jaceant.,, — Cic. 
Ep.  iv.  5. 

t  The  cape  rises  to  a  height  of  393  feet  above  the  sea. 

173 


174  Studies  in  North  Africa 

Hammam  Lif ;  above  these  rise  the  crescent 
heights  of  Bon  Kornein,  and,  higher  still,  the  dis¬ 
tant  crags  of  Zaghouan,  from  which  Carthage 
drew  its  supply  of  water.  The  fine  ruins  of  the 
Nympheum  still  mark  the  spot  where  the  aque¬ 
duct  started  from  the  springs.  Somewhere  in  the 
hills  behind  Bou  Kornein  lies  the  defile  of  the 
Hatchet,  where  Carthage  executed  her  vengeance 
on  the  mercenaries,  and  the  site  of  the  camp  and 
town  of  Nepheris.  Farther  still  to  the  left  are 
the  blue  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Tunis,  shut  in  by 
the  range  of  mountains  which  end  in  Cape  Bon. 
There  it  was  that  Regulus  landed  and  Cyprian 
was  banished. 

To  our  right  and  left,  as  we  stand  on  the  light¬ 
house,  run  the  hills,  but  the  plain  before  us  is 
unbroken  save  by  two  or  three  insignificant  knolls, 
of  which  Byrsa,  crowned  by  the  new  cathedral, 
is  the  highest.  The  levels  are  green  with  barley, 
the  more  broken  land  is  covered  with  rank  grass, 
sweet  with  wild  thyme,  asphodel,  and  mignonette 
nearly  five  feet  high.  Here  and  there,  especially 
on  the  slopes  of  Byrsa,  is  a  gorgeous  blaze  of 
golden  pyrethrum.  And  that  is  all.  Two  vast 
cities  have  run  their  course  there;  of  the  former 
no  traces  remain  save  two  little  ponds,  some 
tombs,  and  a  layer  of  ashes;  of  the  latter  only 
some  foundations — “ etiam  periere  ruince.” 

To  our  right  as  we  stand  on  the  Pharos,  the 
ground  sinks  rapidly,  and  a  little  valley  opens 
from  the  plain  to  the  sea.  Where  now  stands  the 
pleasant  little  watering-place  of  La  Marsa,  with 


Cadaver  Urbis 


175 


the  palace  of  the  Bey  on  one  side  and  the  Resi¬ 
dence  de  France  on  the  other,  lay  the  villa  of 
Cyprian.  Here  it  was  that  he  was  arrested.  The 
Ager  Sexti ,  where  he  was  tried  and  martyred, 
lay  a  little  farther  inland  where  we  now  see  the 
English  Consnlate.  Farther  still,  between  ns  and 
Byrsa,  stands  a  cross  on  the  little  mound  called 
Koudiat  Sousou,  which  marks,  as  near  as  may 
be,  the  Area  Macrohii ,  the  Cemetery  of  Macrobins, 
where  he  was  buried. 

Beyond  La  Marsa  the  ground  rises  again,  al¬ 
most  as  rapidly  as  it  fell,  into  the  heights  of 
Djebel  Khaoui,  the  Hollow  Mountain,  ending  in 
Cape  Kamart.  All  this  ground  was  covered  with 
the  villas  of  Megara;  the  wealthy  merchants  of 
Tunis  are  beginning  to  replace  them  with  houses 
of  their  own.  Where  Kamart  looks  down  on  the 
shore  of  the  Sebka,  Scipio  stormed  Megara,  but 
was  forced  to  retreat. 

On  Djebel  Khaoui  lay  the  Jewish  Cemetery;  the 
hill  gets  its  name  from  the  multitude  of  sepulchres 
with  which  its  surface  is  undermined.  The  tombs 
are  of  a  type  with  which  the  Holy  Land  has  made 
us  familiar.  A  square  hole  sunk  in  the  rock  to  a 
depth  of  four  or  five  feet  opens,  by  a  small  en¬ 
trance  which  can  be  closed  by  a  stone,  into  a 
chamber  in  the  rock  about  twelve  feet  square  and 
six  high.  On  each  side  of  the  chamber  are  three 
loculi,  two  and  a  half  feet  square  and  six  feet 
deep,  in  which  the  dead  were  laid;  the  entrance 
was  then  cemented  over.  Sometimes  one  of  these 
loculi  was  enlarged,  and  opened  into  a  further 


176  Studies  in  North  Africa 

chamber  similar  to  the  first.  The  enormous  num¬ 
ber  of  tombs  testifies  to  the  size  of  the  Jewish 
population.  The  White  Fathers,  from  Byrsa, 
have  a  little  settlement  on  the  hill.  When  we 
visited  the  spot  they  were  engaged  in  excavating 
a  very  large  tomb  which  they  had  discovered  in 
their  plot  of  ground. 

Near  the  Cross  of  Cyprian  are  the  remains  of 
the  cisterns  of  La  Malga.  They  were  fifteen  in 
number,  and  were  fed  by  the  aqueduct  which 
Hadrian  constructed  from  Djebel  Zaghouan,  a 
distance  of  nearly  sixty  miles.  Traces  of  the 
aqueduct  can  be  seen  close  by.  Long  stretches 
of  it  still  lie  between  Tunis  and  the  Bardo,  and 
span  the  plain  near  Oudna.  In  their  present  form 
the  cisterns  are  certainly  Roman,  but  probably 
they  are  the  successors  of  Punic  works  of  the 
same  description.  For  the  most  part  they  have 
been  destroyed;  the  fragments  which  remain  are 
sufficient  to  form  an  Arab  village,  and  provide 
shelter  for  the  beasts. 

Near  the  cisterns  are  other  ruins  of  importance 
— the  house  of  the  charioteer  Scorpianus,  and  the 
two  cemeteries  of  the  Roman  officials.  It  was 
here  that,  on  his  entrance  into  Carthage,  the  fero¬ 
cious  Hunneric  trampled  beneath  his  horses’ 
hoofs  the  bishops  and  the  clergy  who  had  come 
out  to  meet  him. 

The  graves  in  the  cemeteries  are  very  simple — 
a  cippus  of  masonry  containing  two  or  three  urns. 
Their  peculiarity  is  the  funnel  which  leads  to  the 
surface,  by  which  libations  could  reach  the  ashes 


Cadaver  Urbis 


177 


of  the  dead.  Some  of  the  imprecations  which, 
written  on  thin  sheets  of  lead,  were  dropped  into 
these  funnels,  have  been  described  already.  One 
or  two,  of  a  somewhat  different  character,  may 
be  noticed  here.  Here  is  one  — 

“Te  rogo  qui  infernales  partes  tenes  commendo  tibi 
Julia  Faustilla  Marii  filia  ut  earn  celerius  abducas  et  ibi 
in  numerum  tu  abias.  ’  ’ 

On  the  other  side,  which  is  injured,  we  read : — 

“.  .  .  Faustilla  ut  earn  celerius  abducas  infernalis 
partibus  in  numeru  tu  abias.  ’ ’ 

1 1 1  invoke  thee,  who  reignest  over  the  infernal  regions, 
I  commend  to  thee  Julia  Faustilla,  daughter  of  Marius, 
that  thou  mayest  carry  her  off  as  quickly  as  may  be,  and 
there  keep  her,  in  the  number  of  thy  people.  ’  ’ 

Another,  surrounded  with  magical  names  in 
Greek,  runs  as  follows  :f — 

uratur 

SUCESA 
ADURATUR 
AMORE  VET 
DESIDRI 
SUCES1 

“May  Successa  be  burnt  and  consumed  with  love  and 
desire  for  Successus.” 

Not  far  off  is  the  amphitheatre,  the  scene  of  the 
martyrdom  of  Perpetua  and  many  others.  Not 
so  large  as  the  Colosseum,  but  two  storeys  higher, 
it  must  have  been  a  building  of  great  magnifi¬ 
cence.  The  arrangements  differed  from  those  at 
Pome,  in  that  the  arena  was  solid  ground  instead 
*  C.I.L.  12505.  Ulid.f  12507. 


178  Studies  in  North  Africa 

of  being  a  movable  platform.  The  dens  for  wild 
beasts  and  other  necessary  rooms,  which  at  Rome 
were  hnder  the  arena,  are  here  in  the  podium, 
which  lifted  the  ranges  of  seats  to  a  safe  height 
above  the  arena.  All  over  the  arena  was  found 
a  layer  of  reddish  sand,  about  eighteen  inches 
thick;  it  recalls  the  seas  of  blood  which  have 
flowed  there,  even  if  it  does  not  owe  its  discolora¬ 
tion  to  them.  Below  the  centre  of  the  arena  was 
found  a  large  vaulted  chamber ;  probably  this  was 
the  career  in  which  the  martyrs,  and  others  who 
were  to  fight  the  wild  beasts,  were  confined  and 
prepared  for  the  terrible  ordeal.  On  a  marble 
pillar  preserved  in  the  vault  is  a  most  human 
document:  it  is  an  inscription  of  a  single  word, 
Evasi,  “ I  have  escaped, M  doubtless  from  the  paw 
of  the  lion.  The  vault  has  now  been  fitted  up  as 
a  chapel  to  St.  Perpetua. 

In  the  arena  has  been  found  also  a  square  pit, 
communicating  with  an  underground  passage. 
Probably  it  was  a  trap-door  through  which  the 
beasts  could  be  lifted  on  to  the  stage.  Here  it 
was  that  the  seal  of  Mercury,  with  his  red-hot 
iron,  was  found.  Another  tabula  execrationis  was 
found  here ;  it  runs  as  follows : — 

“0  Demon,  bind  and  fetter  fast  Maurussus,  whom 
Felicitas  brought  into  the  world. 

i  1  Rob  of  his  slumber  that  he  may  not  be  able  to  sleep, 
Maurussus,  whom  Felicitas  brought  into  the  world. 

‘ 4  Almighty  God,  take  to  the  nethermost  hell  Maurussus, 
whom  Felicitas  brought  into  the  world. 

“Thou  that  reignest  over  the  countries  of  Italy  and 
Campania,  Thou  whose  power  extends  over  the  Acher- 


Cadaver  Urbis 


179 


usian  Lake,  take  to  the  abodes  of  Tartarus,  within  the 
space  of  seven  days,  Maurussus,  whom  Felicitas  brought 
into  the  world. 

“Demon,  who  rulest  over  Spain  and  Africa,  thou  who 
alone  canst  cross  the  sea,  counteract  every  remedy,  every 
charm,  every  medicine,  every  libation  of  oil.”  ( Ruines 
de  Carthage ,  p.  16.) 

And  so  on.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that,  as 
is  usual  in  such  magical  incantations,  the  victim 
is  described  as  the  son,  not  of  his  father,  but  of 
his  mother. 

Here  also  were  found  two  votive  plates  of 
metal,  shaped  like  feet,  which  have  been  noticed 
already.  They  bear  no  legible  inscription. 

Until  the  Middle  Ages  the  amphitheatre  was 
fairly  perfect.  It  was  destroyed  by  the  Arabs, 
partly  for  the  sake  of  the  stones;  even  more  to 
get  at  the  copper  clamps,  set  in  lead,  which  bound 
the  stones  together;  the  surface  of  the  Colosseum 
has  been  marred  by  the  same  Vandalism.  Close 
by  is  the  Koudiat  Tsalli. 

Still  a  little  farther  south  are  the  remains  of  the 
circus.  The  spina  was  three  hundred  and  thirty 
yards  long,  the  circus  itself  nearly  double  that 
length.  It  would  accommodate  about  three  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  spectators.  In  a.d.  536,  and  again 
in  the  following  year,  the  mutinous  Byzantine 
soldiers  fortified  themselves  within  it.  After  that 
it  was  completely  destroyed. 

Returning  past  the  amphitheatre  and  the  Cross 
of  St.  Cyprian  we  reach  the  theatre,  hollowed  out 
of  the  side  of  a  little  hill.  Here  Apuleius  pro- 


f 


180  Studies  in  North  Africa 


nonneed  one  of  his  celebrated  discourses,  and 
Tertullian  scandalised  the  people  by  coming  in 
morning  dress.  We  may  remember  that  Au¬ 
gustine,  in  his  Confessions ,  takes  himself  severely 
to  task  for  his  love  of  theatrical  performances. 
It  was  destroyed  and  burnt  by  the  Vandals  in 
a.d.  439.  A  few  tolerable  statues  have  been  found 
there,  including  a  colossal  Apollo  leaning  on  his 
tripod  and  a  beautiful  Demeter.  These  are  now 
in  the  Bardo. 

Close  by  stood  the  Odeum,  or  Opera-House.  It 
was  erected  a.d.  204,  when  the  Carthaginians  ob¬ 
tained  leave  to  celebrate  the  Pythian  Games.  It 
was  like  the  theatre,  only  smaller  and  roofed  in, 
and  shared  its  fate.  Little  of  it  now  remains ;  but 
the  best  statues  yet  unearthed  at  Carthage  have 
been  found  here;  two,  one  of  Venus  and  another 
of  Juno  Regina,  so  called,  are  really  tine. 

Byrsa,  which  should  be  the  most  interesting  site 
in  all  Carthage,  is,  partly  perhaps  on  that  ac¬ 
count,  the  most  disappointing.  The  destruction 
has  been  more  thorough  even  than  elsewhere,  and 
the  site  is  covered  with  modern  buildings  which 
have  nothing  to  recommend  them  except  that  they 
are  the  burial-place  of  the  great  Cardinal  Lavi- 
gerie.  Of  Punic  work  not  a  wrack  remains  except 
*one  doubtful  piece  of  wall.  No  trace  is  left  of  the 
great  Temple  of  Eschmoun  which  saw  the  double 
tragedy  of  the  beginning  and  end  of  Karthhadack, 
when  Elissar  threw  herself  upon  the  pyre,  and 
when  the  wife  of  Hasdrubal  cast  herself  and  her 
children  into  the  blazing  ruins  of  the  temple. 


Cadaver  Urbis 


181 


Standing  out  in  front  have  been  found  some  bases 
of  columns  belonging  to  the  Temple  of  H^scula- 
pius,  which,  took  its  place,  but  these  are  the  only 
fragments  which  have  been  identified.  Behind 
them,  in  the  garden  of  the  Primatial,  stands  the 
paltry  little  chapel  of  St.  Louis  of  Prance,  who 
died  here  on  his  crusade  against  Tunis.  He  was 
buried  in  the  wonderful  church  of  Monreale  above 
Palermo ;  but  some  relics  have  been  brought  back 
and  lie  in  the  new  cathedral. 

In  front  of  and  below  the  chapel  lie  a  series  of 
seven  apsidal  chambers,  nearly  sixty  yards  in 
length ;  the  middle  and  most  important  room  was 
lined  with  marble,  the  others  with  stucco.  They 
probably  belong  to  the  time  when  Augustus  had 
the  site  levelled,  and  were  the  undercroft  of  some 
important  building. 

Ruins,  possibly  of  the  Capitoline  Temple,  lie 
under  the  cathedral;  amongst  them  were  found  a 
colossal  Victory,  recalling  the  Nike  of  Samo- 
thrace,  and  two  huge  reliefs  of  Abundance.  The 
only  ruins  above  ground  lie  by  the  side  of  the 
cathedral;  perhaps  they  belonged  to  the  Procon¬ 
sular  Palace. 

At  the  south-east  side  of  the  hill  a  fine  piece  of 
wall  has  been  laid  bare,  which  is,  perhaps,  Punic ; 
and  a  curious  crypt,  perhaps— for  everything  here 
is  1  ‘perhaps’ ’ — a  prison.  Later  on  it  was  conse¬ 
crated  as  a  chapel  in  honour  of  some  saints  who, 
possibly,  had  been  confined  there.  The  walls 
were  decorated  with  rude  paintings  of  saints  with 
haloes,  a  pagan  sign  of  canonisation  which  the 


1 82  Studies  in  North  Africa 


Church  hesitated  long  before  she  could  accept. 
The  paintings  have  faded,  but  a  copy  has  been 
placed  in  the  Museum. 

Hard  by  is  a  Punic  necropolis;  the  graves  are 
protected  by  triangular  vaults  of  large  stones. 
Near  this  has  been  found  a  plague  pit,  containing 
some  hundreds  of  skeletons.  Probably  it  dates 
from  the  great  pestilence  of  196  b.c. 

A  little  farther  on  are  the  trifling  remains  of  a 
curious  wall  built  entirely  of  amphorcB.  The  dates 
on  the  jars — 45-15  b.c. — show  that  it  belongs  to 
the  time  of  Augustus.  Except  that  the  amphorce 
are  unbroken,  it  reminds  us  of  the  Monte  Testac- 
cio  at  Rome. 

Near  the  shore,  about  six  hundred  yards  from 
the  foot  of  Byrsa,  lie  two  little  ponds.  The 
nearer  is  bent  like  the  blade  of  a  sickle,  the  other 
is  long  and  straight  like  its  handle.  Next  to  Byrsa 
itself,  these  are  the  most  interesting  relics  of  old 
Carthage;  for  they  represent  the  famous  ports 
which  the  Bido  was  excavating  when  HDneas  came. 

When,  in  a.d.  698,  Hassan  destroyed  Carthage, 
he  filled  up  the  harbours  for  fear  Carthage  should 
again  rise  from  the  dust  to  rival  his  Capital  at 
Tunis.  Quite  recently  they  have  been  dug  out,  but 
only  in  part,  so  the  ponds  mark  the  position,  but 
give  no  idea  of  the  size  of  the  original  ports.  The 
nearer  takes  the  place  of  the  circular  Cothon,  and 
it  is  pleasant  to  imagine  that  a  depression  between 
it  and  the  sea  marks  the  channel  cut  by  the  Car¬ 
thaginians  after  the  entrance  had  been  blocked  by 
the  mole  of  Scipio.  In  the  centre  is  the  island  on 


Cadaver  Urbis 


183 

which  stood  the  Admiral’s  house,  surmounted  by 
a  tower.  On  this  island  excavations  are  now  being 
carried  on  by  the  soldiers.  The  officer  who  was 
directing  the  work  pointed  out  how  the  digging 
proved  the  accuracy  of  the  old  descriptions. 
Many  of  the  pillars  and  other  broken  fragments 
unearthed  were  certainly  Roman,  but  the  great 
stones  of  the  foundations  are  marked  with  the 
Tanith  in  red  paint,  and  are  equally  certainly 
Punic. 

The  passage  from  the  naval  to  the  commercial 
port  and  from  this  to  the  sea  is  still  blocked,  but 
the  remains  of  the  breakwater,  and  of  the  vast 
mole  of  Scipio,  are  visible.  Very  careful  sound¬ 
ings  were  made  by  Lieut,  de  Roquefeuil,  in  1898, 
but  the  conclusions  arrived  at  are  still  precarious. 

Close  to  the  Cothon,  between  it  and  Byrsa,  lay 
the  Forum,  or  Agora,  where  Scipio  halted  for  a 
night  before  his  awful  onslaught  on  the  city. 
Here  Bomilcar  was  crucified  for  aspiring  to  kingly 
power,  and  many  an  unfortunate  general  or  ad¬ 
miral  paid  the  same  penalty  for  failure.  Here 
also  stood  the  statue  of  Apollo  in  robes  of  gold, 
which  formed  part  of  the  booty  of  Scipio. 

Walking  by  the  shore,  along  the  lines  of  the 
ancient  quays  towards  Bordj  el  Djedid,  we  pass 
the  ruins  of  the  huge  Thermae  of  Antoninus, 
now  called  Dermech,  a  corruption  of  the  word 
“thermae.”  Then,  turning  to  the  left,  we  reach 
the  cisterns  which  fed  the  baths.  The  Arabs  call 
them  “Mouadjel  ech  Cheiatin,”  “The  Devil’s 
Cisterns.”  They  consist  of  seventeen  parallel 


184  Studies  in  North  Africa 

chambers,  one  hundred  feet  long,  twenty-four  feet 
wide,  and  thirty  high;  at  the  ends  of  these  run 
two  more,  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long.  The 
reservoirs  communicate  with  one  another  by  open¬ 
ings  high  up  in  the  wall,  to  ensure  an  equal  depth 
of  water  in  them  all,  and  to  allow  all  sediment  to 
sink,  as  the  water  made  its  way  slowly  from  one 
chamber  to  another.  Any  reservoir  could  be  iso¬ 
lated  and  cleaned  by  means  of  sluice  gates  and 
air-  or  man-holes  in  the  crown  of  the  vault. 

Turning  to  the  right  and  passing  the  Theatre 
and  Odeum,  we  reach  the  great  Basilica  known  as 
the  Damous-el-Karita,  “Domus  Caritatis,”  “The 
House  of  Love. 9  9  It  stands  in  the  centre  of  a  vast 
Christian  cemetery,  and  must  have  been  one  of 
the  grandest  churches  of  Carthage,  if  not  all 
Africa. 

Such  is  Carthage. 


CHAPTER  XI 


EES  ULTIMJE  A.  D.  423-550 

The  Vandals 

The  final  downfall  of  tlie  tottering  Empire  of 
Eome  was  wrought  by  the  flooding  of  the  civilised 
provinces  of  the  south — Gaul,  Spain,  and  finally 
Italy  itself — by  stream  after  stream  of  the  strong, 
virile  races  of  the  north  and  east. 

Amongst  the  hordes  which,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century,  under  the  pressure  of  the  Huns 
and  Sarmatians  in  their  rear,  became  dislodged 
like  an  avalanche  or  landslip,  and  swept  south 
and  west  in  the  army  of  Ehodogast  or  Rodogaisus, 
were  the  Vandals.  We  first  find  them  in  the  sec¬ 
ond  century,  settled  to  the  south  of  the  Baltic;  a 
southern  division  of  the  race,  living  in  Bohemia, 
took  part  in  the  Marcomannic  Wars  of  a.d.  167- 
179.  About  the  middle  of  the  third  century  they 
joined  the  Goths  and  occupied  Dacia  and  the 
country  north  of  the  Black  Sea;  in  a.d.  277  the 
Emperor  Probus  planted  a  colony  of  them  in 
Britain.  In  the  year  a.d.  405  they  joined  the 
Alani,  Burgundians,  and  Suevi,  and  invaded  Italy 
under  the  banner  of  Ehodogast.  Whilst  besieging 
Florence  they  were  surrounded  by  the  Romans 
under  Stilicho  and  compelled  to  surrender  with  a 

185 


i86  Studies  in  North  Africa 


loss  of  twenty  thousand  men,  including  their  king. 
Next  year,  a.d.  406,  they  moved  towards  Gaul, 
and  were  again  defeated  by  the  Franks.  How¬ 
ever,  they  rejoined  their  old  allies,  the  Alani, 
Suevi,  and  Burgundians,  and  with  them  crossed 
the  Rhone  on  the  last  day  of  a.d.  406,  and  never 
returned.  It  is  from  this  memorable  passage  that 
Gibbon  dates  the  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  in 
the  countries  beyond  the  Alps. 

This  movement  to  the  west  is  said  to  have  been 
made  at  the  suggestion  of  Stilicho,  who  was  him¬ 
self  of  Vandal  stock.  Probably  this  is  untrue,  but 
it  was  undoubtedly  his  policy  to  defend  Italy  at 
the  expense  of  the  outlying  provinces,  which  he 
could  no  longer  hold.  Thus,  “the  barriers  which 
had  so  long  separated  the  savage  from  the  civi¬ 
lised  nations  of  the  earth  were  from  that  fatal 
moment  levelled  with  the  ground.” 

In  less  than  two  years,  a.d.  409,  the  Vandals  had 
reached  the  Pyrenees;  and,  leaving  their  allies 
behind  them,  to  help  towards  the  making  of  mod¬ 
ern  France,  they  poured  over  the  mountain  passes 
into  Spain.  There  they  parted  into  three  bands. 
One  drifted  to  the  west,  into  Tarrantum ;  another 
south-west,  into  Lusitania;  the  rest  made  their 
way  due  south  into  Bsetica.  By  the  year  a.d.  422, 
they  had  taken  Seville  and  Carthagena,  and  occu¬ 
pied  the  southern  provinces  of  Spain,  to  which 
their  coming  gave  the  new~  name  of  Andalusia. 

But  even  this  was  not  destined  to  be  their  final 
resting-place.  In  a.d.  423,  the  Emperor  Honorius 
died,  and,  after  the  usual  interval  of  confusion, 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  187 

and  the  attempted  usurpation  of  the  throne  by  his 
principal  secretary  ( primicerius )  John,  aided  and 
abetted  by  his  great  general  Aetius,  his  son  Val- 
entinian  III.  succeeded  to  the  vacant  throne,  at  the 
age  of  six  years.  During  the  long  minority  of  the 
young  Emperor  the  reins  of  power  were  in  the 
hands  of  his  mother,  Galla  Placidia,  a  strangely 
interesting  woman,  daughter,  sister,  wife,  and 
mother  of  Emperors  of  home.  At  one  time,  as 
wife  of  Athaulphus  (Adolphus),  brother-in-law  of 
Alaric,  she  had  reigned  as  Queen  of  the  Goths; 
then  she  had  been  the  victim  and  slave  of  his 
murderer,  Singeric;  next  as  wife  of  the  brave 
Constantins,  she  had  become  Empress  of  Eome; 
on  his  death  she  had  been  driven  as  an  exile  to 
the  Court  of  Theodosius  at  Constantinople;  now 
she  returned  in  triumph  to  Italy  as  Empress  in  all 
but  name.  Her  lovely  tomb  at  Ravenna  is  almost 
the  last  possibility  of  beauty  in  mosaic.* 

The  task  of  restoring  order  in  Africa,  of  reviv¬ 
ing  the  waning  spirit  of  allegiance,  of  curbing  the 
wild  excesses  of  the  Donatists  and  giving  peace 
to  the  distracted  country,  was  entrusted  by  Pla¬ 
cidia  to  Count  Boniface,  a  strange  mixture  of 
Saint,  Knight  and  Condotiero.  His  defence  of 
Marseilles  attested  his  military  skill,  his  personal 
courage  had  won  him  the  respect  and  fear  of  the 


*  The  sarcophagus  of  Athaulphus  (Athanulph)  still  stands  in 
the  Church  of  S.  Aquilinus  which  he  founded  at  Milan.  The 
sarcophagus  of  Galla  Placidia,  at  Ravenna,  stands  between  those 
of  Honorius  and  Constantius.  These  are,  apparently,  the  only 
Imperial  tombs  which  have  never  been  moved.  Her  daughter 
Honoria  lies  in  the  same  chapel. 


1 88  Studies  in  North  Africa 


barbarians,  bis  warm  friendship  with  the  aged 
Augustine  made  him  acceptable  to  the  Church,  the 
tried  probity  of  his  character  and  the  sternness 
of  his  even-handed  justice  made  him  worthy  of 
the  dignity  given  to  him,  while  his  devoted  loyalty 
to  Placidia  was  proved  by  the  fact  that  during  her 
exile  at  Constantinople  he  alone  had  remained 
faithful  to  her,  and  that  money  and  troops  sup¬ 
plied  by  him  had  contributed  largely  to  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  the  revolt  of  John. 

Unhappily  for  Boniface,  he  left  near  the  throne 
at  Ravenna  his  great  and  unscrupulous  rival 
Aeti'us,  a  man  who,  though  his  defeat  of  Attila, 
the  Scourge  of  God,  on  the  field  of  Chalons,  put 
his  military  genius  beyond  the  reach  of  doubt,  had 
shown  by  his  support  of  the  usurper  John,  that 
his  loyalty  could  not  be  depended  upon. 

Aetius  took  advantage  of  the  absence  of  Boni¬ 
face  to  gain  complete  ascendency  over  the  mind 
of  Galla  Placidia,  and  by  his  intrigues  and  treach¬ 
ery  undermined  her  confidence  in  her  one  loyal 
subject.  So  well  did  he  succeed  that  at  last  Boni¬ 
face  was  driven,  in  self-defence,  to  the  rebellion 
of  which  he  had  been  unjustly  accused. 

In  spite  of  a  touching  letter  from  Augustine, 
imploring  him  not  to  plunge  the  country  and  em¬ 
pire  into  a  parricidal  war,  Boniface,  a.d.  428,  in¬ 
vited  the  Vandals  to  come  over  from  Spain  and 
help  him.  All  the  country  west  of  the  Ampsagas* 
was  to  be  theirs,  on  condition  that  they  guaranteed 

*  The  Oued-el-Kebir,  which  fails  into  the  sea  north  of  Constan¬ 
tine,  near  Djidjeli. 


Res  Ultimse,  a.d.  423-550  189 

him  the  peaceful  and  undisturbed  possession  of 
the  rest. 

The  invitation  came  at  a  most  opportune  mo¬ 
ment.  The  Vandal  King,  Godigisclus,  had  fallen 
in  battle  on  the  other  side  of  the  Bhine,  and  now 
his  son  and  successor,  Gontharis,  had  been  mur¬ 
dered  by  his  bastard  brother,  the  terrible  Geiseric, 
or  Genseric,  a  name  which  deservedly  ranks  with 
those  of  Alaric  and  Attila.  Base-born,  of  small 
stature,  slow  of  speech,  deformed  in  body  by  a 
fall  from  his  horse,  he  was  destined  for  the  next 
forty  years  to  prove  that  his  vast  ambition  was 
justified  by  a  dauntless  courage,  a  genius  for  war, 
and  an  aptitude  for  state-craft  which  were  un¬ 
hampered  by  any  scruples  of  pity  or  of  honour. 

Nothing  could  suit  such  a  man  better  than  such 
an  invitation.  In  a.d.  429  he  crossed  from  Gi¬ 
braltar  to  Ceuta  in  ships  supplied  by  the  anxious 
Boniface  and  the  still  more  anxious  Spaniards. 
Surely  never  was  guest  so  sped  on  his  departure 
and  so  welcomed  on  his  arrival.  With  him  he 
brought  a  mixed  multitude,  a  nation  rather  than 
an  army,  eighty  or  ninety  thousand  strong,  of 
whom  about  half  were  soldiers.  Like  all  invaders 
of  Africa,  he  was  hailed  as  a  deliverer,  and  his 
success  was  immediate  and  complete ;  but  his 
coming  set  the  country  in  a  blaze.  All  the  ele¬ 
ments  of  disorder  which  the  firm  rule  of  Boniface 
had  kept  in  control,  broke  loose;  the  natives  rose 
against  the  Roman  sway,  while  the  Donatists, 
after  seventeen  years  of  rigorous  suppression  and 
proscription,  naturally  joined  the  Arian  invaders, 


190  Studies  in  North  Africa 

who  were  bound  to  them  by  that  strongest  of  all 
ties,  a  common  hatred  of  the  Church. 

That  Genseric  should  confine  himself  within  the 
borders  assigned  him  longer  than  suited  his  pur¬ 
pose  was  more  than  could  be  expected,  and  Boni¬ 
face  soon  realised  his  mistake.  Friends  visited 
him  from  the  Court  of  Bavenna,  and  returned 
bearing  with  them  the  forged  letters  which  dis¬ 
closed  the  treachery  of  Aetius ;  the  breach  between 
Boniface  and  Placidia  was  healed,  and  Boniface 
determined  to  resist  his  formidable  allies.  But 
it  was  too  late ;  he  was  defeated  by  Genseric,  and 
at  last  shut  up  and  besieged  in  Hippo,  where  he 
arrived  in  time  to  close  the  eyes  of  his  friend 
Augustine,  who  died  there  on  August  28th,  a.d. 
430.  From  May  a.d.  430  until  July  a.d.  431,  the 
siege  lasted.  Bealising  the  importance  of  Africa, 
Placidia  implored  the  help  of  the  Emperor  of  the 
East,  and  Aspar  sailed  from  Constantinople  to 
relieve  the  besieged  city.  Thus  reinforced,  Boni¬ 
face  ventured  on  a  second  battle,  and  his  defeat 
sealed  the  fate  of  Boman  Africa.  In  despair,  he 
left  Hippo  with  Aspar,  taking  his  soldiers  with 
him,  and  leaving  the  defenceless  citizens  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  Vandals. 

Near  Bavenna  he  met  his  rival  Aetius  in  battle, 
and,  though  victorious,  he  received  a  fatal  wound, 
at  the  hand,  it  was  said,  of  Aetius  himself.  Tra¬ 
dition,  or  legend,  has  cast  a  halo  of  romance 
round  his  death.  We  are  told  that  the  quarrel  was 
decided  by  a  hand-to-hand  encounter  between  the 
two  generals.  Owing  to  the  greater  length  of  his 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  191 

spear,  Aetius  was  victorious,  and  Boniface,  with 
his  last  breath,  committed  his  young  wife  to  him 
as  the  only  man  worthy  of  her.*  The  story  is 
interesting,  if  only  as  an  anticipation  of  the 
tournament  as  a  court  of  honour,  and  of  the  coming 
ages  of  romance  and  chivalry. 

In  the  full  tide  of  victory,  Genseric  was  obliged 
to  pause  for  a  time.  Difficulties  thickened  round 
him.  His  advance  to  the  east  had  left  Mauretania 
almost  stripped  of  troops  and  open  to  the  ravages 
of  the  Romans  from  Spain :  in  Numidia  the  almost 
impregnable  fortress  of  Cirta  (Constantine)  de¬ 
fied  his  arms;  and  his  nephews,  the  sons  of  the 
murdered  Gontharis,  added  to  his  difficulties  by 
stirring  up  mutiny  in  the  ranks  of  his  army.  It 
was  said  that  he  shed  more  Vandal  blood  on  the 
scaffold  than  on  the  field  of  battle,  before  the 
disaffection  was  appeased.  Meanwhile,  on  Janu¬ 
ary  30th,  a.d.  435,  he  made  a  peace  with  Valentin- 
ian,  by  which  he  secured  to  the  Roman  Emperor 
the  peaceful  possession  of  Carthage  and  of  the 
Proconsular  province  of  Africa. 

This  arrangement  lasted  just  as  long  as  suited 
the  convenience  of  Genseric.  In  a.d.  439  he  was 
ready  to  take  the  field  again.  Suddenly,  without 
the  slightest  notice,  he  advanced  upon  Carthage, 
and  surprised  and  took  it,  five  hundred  and  thirty 
years  after  its  capture  and  destruction  by  Scipio. 
The  land  of  Proconsular  Africa  he  divided 

*  A  somewhat  similar  story  is  told  by  Gibbon  of  the  death  of 
Stotzas.  Cf.  Gibbon  xi.  3:  "He  fell  in  a  single  combat,  but  he 
smiled  in  the  agonies  of  death,  when  he  was  informed  that  his 
own  javelin  had  reached  the  heart  of  his  antagonist.” 


192  Studies  in  North  Africa 

amongst  such  of  Ms  followers  as  were  not  already 
provided  for ;  Carthage  he  made  a  private  strong¬ 
hold.  An  alliance  with  Attila,  King  of  the  Huns, 
secured  him  from  the  interference  of  Rome. 

Of  all  the  great  barbarian  invaders,  Genseric 
seems  to  have  been  the  ablest  and  most  versatile. 
Not  content  with  his  African  conquests,  he  built 
a  fleet  and  seized  the  Balearic  Islands,  Sicily, 
Corsica,  and  Sardinia;  the  Vandal  fleet  became 
the  scourge  of  the  Mediterranean,  as  the  Barbary 
corsairs  were  later  on  in  history.  “  Whither  shall 
we  steer ?”  asked  his  ship’s  master,  when  starting 
on  one  of  these  buccaneering  expeditions. 
“Where  God  wills, ”  was  Genseric ’s  answer;  and 
“God”  seems  generally  to  have  “willed”  that  he 
should  go  wherever  booty  was  most  plentiful  and 
least  protected. 

In  a.d.  455  Genseric  received  another  invitation, 
not  less  agreeable  than  the  first.  After  murdering 
Aetius  with  his  own  hand,  “cutting  off  his  right 
hand  with  his  left,”  the  wretched  Valentinian  III. 
had  been  himself  murdered  by  Petronius  Maxi¬ 
mus,  a  wealthy  senator,  whose  wife  he  had  de¬ 
bauched.  With  the  throne  Maximus  seized  also 
the  Empress  Eudoxia,  daughter  of  Theodosius, 
Emperor  of  the  East,  and  made  her  his  wife.  The 
unwilling  bride  invoked  the  aid  of  the  terrible 
King  of  the  Vandals  to  avenge  her  wrongs.  Such 
a  call  was  not  likely  to  remain  unanswered. 
Genseric  sailed  at  once,  and  landed  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tiber,  where  his  arrival  was  a  signal  for 
the  murder  of  Maximus.  Advancing  boldly  from 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  193 

Ostia,  he  was  met  at  the  gate  of  Rome  by  the 
Bishop,  Leo,  who  pleaded  for  the  defenceless  city, 
as  he  had  interceded  with  Attila.  Again  he  was 
in  part  successful.  There  was  no  general  mas¬ 
sacre,  and  the  city  was  not  destroyed;  but  for 
fourteen  days,  from  June  15th  to  29th,  it  was 
given  up  to  the  will  of  the  wild  Vandal  and  Af¬ 
rican  soldiery  to  be  sacked  and  systematically 
looted.  Then  Genseric  returned  to  Carthage, 
laden  with  his  priceless  booty.  Gold  and  silver 
statues  of  the  gods,  the  bronze  tiles  of  the  Capitol, 
which  Domitian  had  gilded  at  a  cost,  it  is  said, 
of  £2,400,000,  the  golden  candlestick  and  table  of 
showbread  from  Jerusalem,  with  other  treasures 
stored  in  the  Temple  of  Peace  in  the  Forum,  all 
found  their  way  to  Carthage;  and  Elissar  was 
avenged. 

With  his  other  prey,  Genseric  carried  back  also 
the  Empress  Eudoxia  and  her  two  daughters, 
Eudocia  and  Placidia,  and  many  thousand  pris¬ 
oners  for  sale.  The  elder  daughter  Eudocia  he 
gave  as  wife  to  his  son  Hunneric;  he  also  de¬ 
manded  and  received  from  the  Emperor  Marcian 
an  ample  dowry  for  her  as  the  descendant  and 
heiress  of  Theodosius.  After  long  delay,  Eudoxia 
and  Placidia,  who  was  the  wife  of  a  Roman  sen¬ 
ator,  were  surrendered  and  sent  to  Constanti¬ 
nople.  The  miseries  of  the  prisoners  were  allevi¬ 
ated  so  far  as  possible  by  the  noble  exertions  of 
the  Bishop,  Deogratias.  The  gold  and  silver 
plate  belonging  to  the  churches  was  sold,  to  pur¬ 
chase  the  liberty  of  some,  and  food  and  medicines 


194  Studies  in  North  Africa 

for  others.  The  churches  themselves  were  trans¬ 
formed  into  hospitals. 

Of  the  general  character  of  the  Vandal  sway  in 
North  Africa  it  is  very  difficult  to  form  a  just  esti¬ 
mate.  We  know  little  of  it,  except  from  those 
who  suffered  under  it,  and  whose  testimony  must 
be  received  with  caution.  The  mixed  multitude 
which  crossed  over  from  Spain  had  never  been 
very  numerous — not  more  than  about  ninety 
thousand,  including  women  and  children,  and 
many  of  these  must  have  fallen  or  been  left  on 
the  way;  the  population  of  Carthage  alone  out¬ 
numbered  them  four-  or  five-fold.  The  soldiers 
who  had  brought  their  wives  and  children  with 
them  had,  of  course,  to  be  provided  for ;  doubtless 
there  were  acts  of  violence  and  spoliation,  but 
we  do  not  read  of  any  wholesale  confiscation  of 
land  except  in  the  Proconsular  province  of  Africa 
• — that  is,  in  the  neghbourhood  of  Carthage.  It  is 
certain  that  the  Vandals  recognised  two  classes 
of  occupiers :  Roman  or  civil,  who  paid  a  contri¬ 
bution  in  money;  and  barbarian  or  military,  wdio 
gave  nothing  but  military  service.  Two  govern¬ 
ments  existed  side  by  side.  Over  the  Vandals 
were  set  counts  and  inferior  officers,  captains  of 
thousands  and  of  hundreds,  who  exercised  mili¬ 
tary  authority  in  time  of  war,  and  civil  in  time 
of  peace.  By  the  side  of  these,  the  Roman  organ¬ 
isation  remained  almost  untouched.  The  old 
Imperial  laws  were  still  administered;  Roman 
officials  collected  the  taxes;  Roman  magistrates 
still  sat  in  the  cities.  The  Defensor  Civitatis  still 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  195 

held  his  tribunal,  and  appeals  were  still  made  to 

the  Prcepositus  judiciis  Romanis  in  Regno  Africce 
Vandalorum,  at  Carthage.  Except  for  the  dis¬ 
mantling  of  the  walls,  the  cities  were  left  unin¬ 
jured,  and  the  Vandals,  if  they  built  nothing, 
wantonly  destroyed  but  little.  Certainly  they 
made  no  deliberate  effort  to  wreck  the  civilisa¬ 
tion  they  found,  or  to  impose  their  manners  and 
customs  on  their  Roman  subjects.  They  held  and 
garrisoned  Africa,  and  expected  Africa  to  support 
them  in  return ;  but  beyond  this,  the  Romans  seem 
to  have  suffered  little  at  their  hands.  The  coloni 
remained  much  what  they  had  been,  only  now  they 
worked  for  two  masters  instead  of  one.  The 
mountaineers,  already  half  independent,  were 
drafted  into  the  army  or  manned  the  fleets. 

One  exception  must  be  made  to  this.  For  many 
years  of  his  long  reign,  Genseric,  with  his  Donatist 
allies,  was  a  relentless  persecutor  of  the  Church. 
The  bishops  were  banished,  the  churches  were 
closed,  and  doubtless  many  who  were  not  attacked 
as  Romans  suffered  severely  as  Christians,  or 
rather  Churchmen.  Yet  even  here  it  must  be  re¬ 
membered  that  much  of  the  reckless  destruction 
of  churches  may  safely  be  put  down  to  the  fury 
of  the  Donatists.  Probably  the  Church  did  not 
suffer  more  severely  at  the  hands  of  Genseric 
than  the  Donatists  themselves  had  suffered  under 
Boniface. 

But,  as  so  often  happens  in  such  cases,  this  com¬ 
paratively  tolerable  state  of  things  did  not  long 
survive  its  founder.  After  the  death  of  Genseric, 


196  Studies  in  North  Africa 

a.d.  477,  the  natural  turbulence  of  the  wild  soldiery 
the  jealous  quarrels  of  the  chief,  the  incursions  of 
the  nomads  from  the  desert  upon  the  unwalled 
cities,  the  brigandage  of  the  mountaineers,  and  the 
ferocious  persecution  of  the  Church  by  Hunneric, 
soon  destroyed  the  peace  and  good  understanding 
between  the  various  classes  of  the  inhabitants, 
which  the  sagacious  policy  and  firm  rule  of  Gen- 
seric  had  established. 

Meanwhile  the  general  character  and  the  war¬ 
like  aptitude  of  the  Vandals  were  fast  declining. 
It  was  only  seventy  years  since  they  had  crossed 
the  Rhine,  but  already  the  heat  and  enervating 
climate  of  their  new  home,  and  the  still  more  de¬ 
moralising  ease  and  luxury  of  their  new  surround¬ 
ings,  had  sapped  their  strength  and  destroyed  the 
hardy  virtues  of  the  barbarian,  replacing  them 
only  with  the  vices  of  a  degraded  civilisation. 
Moreover,  though  formidable  when  collected  in  an 
army,  the  smallness  of  their  numbers  became  ap¬ 
parent  when  they  were  spread  over  the  country 
as  landed  proprietors.  The  kingdom  of  the  Van¬ 
dals,  built  up  in  a  day,  fell  into  ruins  in  a  night. 
In  a.d.  406  they  crossed  the  Rhine ;  in  a.d.  429  they 
reached  Africa;  in  a.d.  477  Genseric  died;  and  in 
a.d.  533  Belisarius  landed. 

The  Byzantines 

Old  ideas,  conceptions,  habits  of  thought,  and 
claims  die  hard,  especially,  if  they  minister  to  the 
pride  of  the  man  or  nation  who  entertains  them. 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  197 

The  mere  fact  that  they  have  ceased  to  be  true  has 
little  effect  beyond  that  of  rendering  them  more 
dear,  and  causing  them  to  be  more  fondly  and  ob¬ 
stinately  cherished.  Men  and  nations  cling  to  the 
remembrance  of  what  they  once  were,  partly  be¬ 
cause  it  is  hard  to  relinquish  the  flattering  mem¬ 
ory,  and  partly  because  there  is  always  the  possi¬ 
bility,  and  with  it  the  vague  hope,  that  some 
unexpected  turn  of  the  wheel  of  fortune  may  bring 
the  cherished  possession  within  reach  again;  and 
then  the  fact  that  the  claim  has  never  been  relin¬ 
quished  makes  the  new  conquest  more  like  the 
revival  of  a  dormant  title  than  the  creation  of  a 
new.  The  fleurs-de-lys  of  France  were  borne  on 
the  royal  standard  of  England  for  many  a  long 
year  after  England’s  last  possession  in  France 
was  gone. 

Notably  has  this  been  always  the  case  with 
Rome,  Imperial  of  old  as  Papal  now.  Whatever 
Rome  has  once  become  possessed  of  by  force  of 
arms  or  diplomacy  or  intrigue,  Rome  claims  for 
ever,  however  clearly  history  may  contradict  the 
justice  of  the  original  title  or  the  validity  of  the 
new. 

In  the  year  a.d.  527  the  throne  of  Constantinople 
was  filled  by  a  Dacian  peasant  born  near  Sardica, 
the  modern  Sofia  in  Bulgaria.  His  name  was  Up- 
rauda,  the  Upright,  or,  in  its  Latin  form,  Jus¬ 
tinian.  He  had  been  raised  to  the  purple  by  the 
merits  of  his  uncle  Justin,  who,  in  a  long  military 
service  of  more  than  fifty  years,  had  risen  from 
the  ranks,  through  the  successive  grades  of  trib- 


198  Studies  in  North  Africa 

une,  count,  general,  until  at  last,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-eight  years,  he  was  elected  Emperor.  After 
an  uneventful  reign  of  nine  years,  during  which 
his  deficiencies  had  been  covered  by  the  diligence 
and  ability  of  the  Quaestor  Proclus,  he  secured  the 
succession  for  his  nephew,  whom  he  had  brought 
from  Dacia  and  educated  at  Constantinople. 

When  Justinian  ascended  the  throne,  the  domin¬ 
ions  of  Rome  had  been  definitely  separated  into 
the  two  Empires  of  East  and  West  for  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty  years.  The  Western  Empire  had 
long  ceased  to  be  Roman,  even  in  name.  In  Italy 
the  Goths  had  ruled  for  fifty  years ;  in  Africa  the 
Vandals  had  held  undisputed  sway  for  over  a 
century.  All  this  was  fact,  but  theory  did  not  tally 
with  it.  Theoretically  the  Empire  was  still  one, 
undivided  and  indivisible.  The  possessions  of  Old 
Rome  had  become  those  of  New,  automatically,  by 
a  natural  and  indefeasible  right  of  succession,  and 
all  intruders,  whether  Goths  or  Vandals,  were 
usurpers,  to  be  expelled,  rightly  and  justly,  when¬ 
ever  opportunity  might  serve.  How  nearly  Jus¬ 
tinian  succeeded,  through  the  genius  and  unswerv¬ 
ing  loyalty  of  his  great  general  Belisarius,  in  en¬ 
forcing  the  claim  and  reviving  the  dying  Empire 
of  Rome,  does  not  belong  to  our  subject  except  in 
so  far  as  Africa  is  concerned.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
he  made  the  effort,  and,  in  making  it,  completed 
the  ruin  of  Roman  and  Christian  Africa,  if  not  of 
Italy  also. 

Justinian  had  not  long  to  wait  for  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  interfering  in  Africa.  The  throne  of 


Res  Ultimas,  A.D.  423-550  199 

Genseric  was  occupied  by  Ms  grandson,  Hilderic, 
who,  through  his  mother  Eudocia,  could  claim 
descent  from  the  Emperor  of  Rome  on  the  one 
side  and  of  Constantinople  on  the  other.  He  was 
a  gentle,  cultured,  amiable  man,  who  lacked  both 
the  savagery  of  his  father,  Hunneric,  and  the  abil¬ 
ity  of  his  cousin  and  predecessor,  Thrasimund. 
His  clemency  to  his  Catholic  subjects,  to  whom 
he  granted  peace  and  freedom  of  worship,  was 
at  once  his  glory  and  his  ruin.  The  Arian  clergy 
denounced  him  as  an  apostate,  an  accusation  to 
which  his  friendship  with  Justinian  lent  some 
colour ;  while  the  defeat  of  his  general,  or 
Achilles,  by  a  rabble  of  natives,  aroused  the  in¬ 
dignant  contempt  of  his  soldiers  for  his  military 
incapacity.  An  insurrection,  fomented  and  headed 
by  his  cousin  Gelimer,  broke  out.  Hilderic  was 
deposed  and  thrown  into  prison,  and  Gelimer, 
whose  birth  and  military  fame  fitted  him  well  for 
the  post,  usurped  his  throne. 

On  this  a.d.  231,  Tripoli  revolted,  and  invited 
the  help  of  Justinian  on  behalf  of  their  rightful 
King.  The  Emperor  at  once  espoused  the  cause 
of  his  friend,  and  haughtily  warned  Gelimer 
against  any  further  revolt,  at  the  risk  of  incurring 
the  displeasure  of  God  and  of  himself.  The  fierce 
Vandal  replied  by  increasing  the  rigour  of  Hil¬ 
deric ’s  imprisonment,  and,  with  mutual  protesta¬ 
tions  of  sincere  desire  for  peace,  “according  to  the 
practice,”  as  Gibbon  remarks,  “of  civilised  na¬ 
tions,”  each  side  prepared  for  war. 

The  command  of  the  Byzantine  forces  was  given 


200  Studies  in  North  Africa 


by  Justinian  to  the  illustrious  Belisarius,  the  third 
Africanus,  one  of  the  greatest  generals  and  noblest 
men  in  all  history. 

Belitzar,  the  “  White  Prince/ ’  to  give  him  his 
proper  name,  was  born,  says  Procopius,  “in  Ger¬ 
mania,  between  Thrace  and  Blyria, ?  ’  not  very  far, 
that  is,  from  the  birthplace  of  the  Emperor  him¬ 
self.  He  served  with  distinction  in  the  private 
guard  of  Justinian,  and,  when  his  patron  became 
Emperor,  was  promoted  to  military  command.  As 
general  of  the  East  he  had  won  renown  in  an 
arduous  campaign  against  the  Persians,  and  the 
new-made  peace,  to  which  his  prowess  largely  con¬ 
tributed,  set  him  free  for  an  even  more  difficult 
and  important  operation. 

It  was  on  June  22nd,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
533,  and  in  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Jus¬ 
tinian,  that  the  Byzantine  Armada  sailed  from 
Constantinople  for  Africa.  The  vessels  of  the  fleet 
and  transports,  six  hundred  in  number,  were  an¬ 
chored  in  front  of  the  palace  gardens,  where  they 
were  reviewed  by  the  Basileus  himself.  The 
Patriarch,  surrounded  by  his  clergy,  descended 
to  the  port  to  pronounce  his  solemn  benediction  on 
the  army  as  it  started  on  its  new  crusade.  Thus, 
with  the  happiest  auspices,  Belisarius  entered  on 
the  campaign,  taking  with  him  as  his  secretary,  his 
Boswell,  Procopius,  the  future  historian  of  the 
war.  During  the  whole  of  the  three  months  that 
the  voyage  lasted,  not  a  single  Vandal  vessel  was 
sighted  which  might  carry  to  Carthage  the  news 
of  the  approach  of  the  army.  A  better  proof  of 


201 


Res  Ultimge,  a.d.  423-550 

the  decay  of  Vandal  enterprise  conld  hardly 
be  imagined,  for,  nnder  Genseric,  the  pirate  cor¬ 
sairs  of  Carthage  had  swept  the  Mediterranean. 
Belisarins  landed  at  Cape  Vada,  a  desolate  strip 
of  beach  on  the  Tripoli  border,  nine  days’  march 
sonth  of  Carthage.  His  advance  on  the  capital 
was  a  triumphal  progress.  The  natives  hailed  him 
as  they  had  the  Vandals,  as  a  deliverer  from  a 
foreign  despotism,  and  willingly  supplied  the 
troops  with  provisions ;  the  Church  welcomed  him 
as  a  saviour  from  savage  persecution ;  even  among 
the  Arian  Vandals  there  were  many  who  were  un¬ 
willing  to  fight  against  one  who  came,  nominally 
at  least,  to  the  succour  of  their  rightful  King,  and 
the  rest  were  utterly  unprepared  for  organised 
resistance.  On  the  day  after  his  arrival,  the  little 
town  of  Sullecte  opened  her  gates  to  him ;  the  more 
important  cities  of  Leptis  Magna,  now  a  vast  mass 
of  ruins  on  the  Oued  Lebda,  sixty  miles  west  of 
Tripoli  and  Hadr'umetum  (Sousse),  followed  her 
example.  Indeed  it  is  not  easy  to  see  what  else 
they  could  have  done,  for  the  Vandals  had  de¬ 
stroyed  their  walls  and  fortifications.  Gelimer 
could  not  come  to  their  assistance,  for,  incredulous 
as  to  the  coming  of  the  foe,  and  ignorant  of  their 
arrival,  he  needed  time  to  collect  his  forces ;  above 
all  he  wished,  if  possible,  not  to  risk  a  battle 
before  the  arrival  of  his  brother  Zano,  whom,  with 
his  seasoned  troops,  he  had  hurriedly  summoned 
from  Sardinia. 

And  so  Belisarius  was  able  to  advance,  cau¬ 
tiously  indeed,  but  unhindered  and  unopposed, 


202  Studies  in  North  Africa 


leaving  behind  him  a  country  quiet  and  content; 
men  went  about  their  ordinary  business,  magis¬ 
trates  administered  the  old  laws,  only  in  the  new 
name  of  Justinian.  It  was  not  until  he  reached  the 
tenth  milestone  from  Carthage  (“ Ad  Decimum”) 
that  Belisarius  encountered  an  enemy.  Here  at 
last  Gelimer  fell  upon  him  furiously  with  what 
forces  he  could  muster,  and  so  fierce  was  the  onset 
that  the  Greek  van  was  beaten  back,  and  for  the 
moment  the  issue  hung  in  the  balance.  Then  the 
fall  of  Ammatas,  brother  of  the  King,  and  a 
charge  of  the  picked  guard  led  by  the  general  in 
person,  restored  the  battle,  and  at  last  Gelimer 
fled,  utterly  routed,  towards  Numidia,  his  only 
consolation  in  his  fall  being  the  knowledge  that  his 
last  orders  for  the  murder  of  his  innocent  cousin 
Hilderic,  had  been  punctually  carried  out. 

But,  however  comforting  to  him,  this  turned  to 
the  advantage  of  his  enemies ;  for  the  death  of  the 
King,  and  the  flight  of  the  usurper,  left  Belisarius 
free  to  assume  supreme  command  in  the  name  of 
Justinian.  On  the  evening  after  the  victory  he 
bivouacked  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  on  the  mor¬ 
row  he  entered  Carthage.  Almost  at  the  same 
moment  the  fleet  arrived  and  anchored  in  the  Lake 
of  Tunis.  On  the  eve  of  St.  Cyprian’s  Hay,  Sep¬ 
tember  14th,  the  defeat  of  the  Vandals,  and  the 
liberation  of  Africa  from  their  yoke,  were  publicly 
and  solemnly  proclaimed. 

The  first  task  of  Belisarius  was  to  strengthen 
the  fortifications  of  Carthage,  for,  though  the 
walls  had  not  been  destroyed,  they  had  never  been 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  203 

repaired,  and  a  hundred  years’  neglect  had  very 
seriously  impaired  their  strength.  He  set  about 
the  work  with  the  amazing  energy  which  charac¬ 
terised  all  his  actions  and  contributed  so  largely 
to  his  success;  a  specimen  of  his  work,  rude  and 
strong,  can  still  be  seen  on  the  south-west  corner 
of  the  Castro  Pretorio  at  Rome. 

The  Vandal  army  had  been  dispersed  in  the 
fight  at  Ad  Decimum,  but  not  destroyed.  Zano 
hurried  home  from  Sardinia  and  joined  his 
brother;  and  Gelimer,  collecting  once  more  his 
scattered  forces,  raised  his  standard  at  Bulla 
Regia,  near  Souk-el- Arba,  within  a  hundred  miles 
of  Carthage.  Advancing  rapidly  on  the  city,  a 
second  battle,  in  which  it  would  almost  seem  that 
Belisarius  allowed  himself  to  be  surprised,  was 
fought  at  Tricameron,  twenty  miles  from  Car¬ 
thage.  Zano  was  killed  and  the  Vandals  again 
defeated,  although,  judging  from  the  number  of 
the  killed,  it  does  not  seem  that  they  pushed  home 
their  attack  very  vigorously,  for  in  this  battle, 
which  ended  the  Vandal  rule  in  Africa,  no  more 
than  fifty  Greeks  and  eight  hundred  Vandals  fell. 
This  time  Gelimer  accepted  his  defeat  as  final; 
after  a  short  flight,  he  surrendered  to  Pharas,  the 
officer  sent  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  was  taken  to 
Constantinople.  After  adorning  the  triumph  of 
Belisarius,  he  was  given  an  ample  estate  in  Ga¬ 
latia,  where  he  lived  and  died  in  peace  and  ob¬ 
scurity. 

Thus  ended  the  Vandal  dynasty  in  Africa. 
Within  three  months  of  his  arrival,  Belisarius  was 


204  Studies  in  North  Africa 

able  to  send  word  to  Justinian,  that  Africa  was 
once  more  a  part  of  the  Empire  of  Rome. 

Master  by  both  land  and  sea,  Belisarins  de¬ 
spatched  the  fleet  along  the  coast  as  far  as  to  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  to  receive  the  submission  of 
the  seaboard  towns.  To  Sardinia  and  Corsica  he 
sent  the  head  of  Zano ;  the  argument  was  convinc¬ 
ing,  and  the  islands  submitted:  the  pick  of  the 
Vandal  soldiery  he  deported  to  Constantinople, 
where  they  were  drafted  into  the  armies  of  the 
East,  forming  five  troops  known  by  the  name  of 
Justiniani  Vandalici. 

The  history  of  Africa  has  no  surprises.  It  is 
like  an  old-fashioned  song — every  verse  has  new 
words,  but  the  tune  is  the  same.  With  that  un¬ 
conquerable  love  of  liberty  which  is  born  of  the 
mountains  and  the  sea,  the  natives  have  always 
refused  to  accept  a  foreign  yoke.  They  welcomed 
the  Romans  as  deliverers  from  the  Carthaginians, 
the  Vandals  from  the  Romans,  the  Byzantines 
from  the  Vandals ;  now  the  turn  of  the  Byzantines 
was  come.  Carthage  had  to  deal  with  Syphax 
or  Masinissa,  Rome  with  Tacfarinas*  and  Ju- 
gurtha,  the  Arabs  with  Koceila  and  the  Kahenah, 
the  French  with  Abd-el-Kader,  Bou  Naza,  and 
Bou  Bagha.  Now  the  Byzantines  met  the  same 
spirit  in  labdas  and  Koutsina. 

For  the  moment  all  seemed  quiet,  but  beneath 
the  external  peace  the  whole  country  was  seething 


*  This  African  Arminius  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  the  Musulamii, 
south  of  the  Aures.  He  was  able  to  hold  the  Roman  army  in  check 
for  seven  years,  a.d.  17  to  24.  Finally  he  was  killed  at  Aumale. 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  205 

with  a  discontent,  which  needed  only  the  depar¬ 
ture  of  Belisarius  to  bring  it  to  the  surface  in 
open  rebellion.  Generations  of  luxury,  followed 
by  a  century  of  subjection,  had  fatally  sapped  the 
vigour  of  the  Roman  colonists,  and  there  re¬ 
mained  to  the  cities  neither  the  defence  of  walls 
and  bulwarks,  nor  the  better  defence  of  stout 
hearts  and  the  old  Roman  courage,  to  save  them 
from  the  wild  hordes  which  once  more  swept 
down  from  the  mountains  and  up  from  the  desert. 

Overawed  for  the  moment  by  the  genius  of  Beli- 
sarius,  and  recognising  that  in  a  measure  he  was 
doing  their  work,  the  natives  had  either  helped 
him  or  at  least  allowed  him  to  pass  unscathed; 
now  that  he  was  gone,  recalled  almost  in  disgrace, 
the  standard  of  rebellion  was  at  once  raised.  A 
soothsayer  or  sorceress  had  promised  that  Africa 
should  be  conquered  only  by  a  beardless  general, 
and  close  inquiry  had  shown  that  none  of  the 
Byzantine  commanders  satisfied  this  requirement. 
No  sooner  was  Belisarius  safely  on  his  way  home, 
than  news  was  brought  him  that  the  whole  of  the 
Byzacene  (Tunisia)  and  of  Numidia  was  in  a 
blaze. 

Belisarius  despatched  his  most  trusty  lieuten¬ 
ant  to  deal  as  best  he  might  with  the  situation; 
this  was  the  eunuch  Solomon,  who,  strangely 
enough,  satisfied  the  requirement  of  the  Numidian 
soothsayer. 

He  soon  had  his  hands  full,  for  he  had  against 
him  an  active  and  mobile  enemy,  fighting  in  and 
for  their  own  country,  an  enemy  whom  it  was  easy 


206  Studies  in  North  Africa 


to  defeat  and  disperse,  but  impossible  to  conquer 
or  permanently  subdue.  Marching  into  the  By- 
zacene,  he  defeated  them  at  Manme;  attacked  on 
his  way  back,  he  turned  upon  them  and  defeated 
them  again  at  Burgeon  without  losing  a  man,  and 
so  reached  Carthage,  only  to  hear  that  the  king, 
labclas,  had  roused  Numidia  and  was  destroying 
the  towns.  It  was  then,  a.d.  535,  that  Thamugadi 
(Timgad)  was  wrecked  and  burnt. 

Of  the  splendid  thoroughness  and  deliberation 
with  which  Solomon  set  himself  to  protect  the 
country  by  refortifying  the  towns,  the  wonderful 
system  of  fortresses  which  still  stud  the  country 
bears  testimony. 

Meanwhile  greater  troubles  were  brewing  in 
Carthage. 

Justinian,  like  other  men,  tried  to  run  his  wars 
and  colonies  on  business  principles,  and  make 
them  pay  their  way;  and  so  there  came  to  Africa 
two  Imperial  commissioners,  Tryphon  and  Eu- 
stratius,  to  assess  and  collect  taxes,  and  these 
men,  by  the  exorbitance  of  their  extortions,  soon 
alienated  the  only  loyal  portion  of  the  population. 

Again,  many  of  the  soldiers  had  married  Van¬ 
dal  women,  and  quietly  annexed  the  farms;  this 
land  was  now  claimed  for  the  Emperor  and  the 
occupiers  evicted. 

Beligious  toleration,  as  distinct  from  indiffer¬ 
ence,  is  but  little  understood  now;  in  the  sixth 
century  it  was  undreamt  of,  and  after  a  century 
of  ruthless  persecution,  the  restored  Church  was 
not  in  a  mood  to  use  with  moderation  the  power 


Res  Ultimae,  a.d.  423-550  207 

she  had  regained.  As  against  the  Vandals  this 
did  not  much  matter,  but,  unfortunately,  in  the 
army  of  Solomon  there  were  some  four  thousand 
Heruli  who  were  also  Arians,  and  were  not  at  all 
disposed  to  accept  the  alternative  of  either  con¬ 
forming  or  being  deprived  of  all  religious  observ¬ 
ances  whatever ;  Christmas  had  tried  their 
temper,  and  now  the  still  greater  festival  of 
Easter  was  approaching. 

To  crown  all  his  troubles,  four  hundred  of  the 
Vandal  horsemen  who  had  been  deported  by  Bel- 
isarius  mutinied  at  Lesbos,  seized  a  vessel,  and 
compelled  the  captain  to  land  them  near  Carthage. 

A  plot  was  hatched  in  the  palace  to  murder 
Solomon  in  church  on  Easter  Day,  a.d.  536. 
Through  a  misunderstanding,  or,  as  Procopius 
says,  “ restrained  by  something  Divine/5  it  failed, 
but  a  mutiny  broke  out  amongst  the  troops,  which 
desolated  Africa  for  ten  years.  Solomon  was 
compelled  to  take  sanctuary  in  the  cathedral,  and 
finally  to  escape  by  sea  to  Syracuse,  to  invoke  the 
aid  of  Belisarius. 

In  his  absence  the  mutineers  sacked  Carthage 
and  retired  to  Buie,  where  they  elected  Stotzas,  a 
man  of  great  capacity,  as  their  commander.  They 
then  returned  and  besieged  the  city  with  ten 
thousand  men. 

Belisarius  was  engaged  on  what  was  to  be  the 
crowning  exploit  of  his  wonderful  career,  the 
conquest  of  the  Gothic  kingdom  of  Italy  and  its 
union  with  the  Eastern  Empire  of  Constantinople. 
He  had  but  little  time  and  few  men  to  spare ;  still, 


208  Studies  in  North  Africa 


he  could  not  stand  calmly  on  one  side  and  see  the 
ruin  of  his  work  in  Africa.  With  a  handful  of 
men  he  at  once  set  sail  for  Carthage  with  Solo¬ 
mon.  He  arrived  in  the  night.  When,  in  the 
morning,  the  news  of  his  coming  reached  the  be¬ 
sieging  army,  the  magic  of  his  name  was  enough. 
Some  of  the  mutineers  returned  to  their  allegi¬ 
ance;  the  rest  raised  the  siege  and  precipitately 
fled.  Getting  together  a  force  of  two  thousand 
men,  Belisarius  started  in  hot  pursuit,  overtook 
them  at  Membressa  (Medjez-el-Bab)  and  inflicted 
a  crushing  defeat.  Stotzas  fled  into  Numidia,  and 
Belisarius  returned  to  Sicily,  leaving  two  of  his 
officers,  Ildiger  and  Theodoras,  in  charge  pending 
the  arrival  of  Germanus,  nephew  of  the  Emperor, 
whom  Justinian  sent  as  Commander  in  Africa. 

Germanus  was  worthy  of  the  difficult  trust.  He 
took  up  at  once  the  pursuit  of  Stotzas,  defeated 
him  in  Numidia,  and  drove  him  back  into  Maure¬ 
tania;  there,  protected  by  a  false  report  of  his 
death,  he  remained  in  peace,  married  the  daughter 
of  a  local  prince,  and,  for  a  time,  disappeared 
from  history. 

But,  like  Belisarius,  Germanus  was  not  allowed 
time  to  finish  the  work  he  began  so  well.  After 
a  couple  of  years,  a.d.  539,  he  was  recalled,  and 
the  chief  command  given  once  more  to  Solomon, 
who  again  showed  himself  unwise  and  weak  as 
an  administrator,  though  beyond  all  question  more 
than  capable  as  a  soldier. 

In  the  following  year  two  of  his  nephews,  Cyrus 
and  Sergius,  sons  of  his  brother  Boccus,  came  out 


Res  Ultimas,  a.d.  423-550  209 

to  join  him,  and  were  most  nnwisely  entrusted 
with  the  government  of  Pentapolis  and  Tripoli. 
A  deputation  of  eighty  Africans,  who  came  to 
Leptis  to  tender  the  submission  of  their  tribe, 
were  treacherously  murdered  by  Sergius,  at  a 
banquet  given  in  their  honour,  and  the  whole 
country  rose  to  avenge  them.  Solomon  hastened 
from  Carthage  to  the  assistance  of  his  nephew, 
but  was  surprised  and  killed  in  battle  near  The- 
veste  (Tebessa). 

In  spite  of  the  indignant  protest  of  Antalas, 
an  African  chieftain  who,  after  fighting  valiantly 
against  the  Vandals,  had  been  made  the  enemy  of 
the  Greeks  by  the  murder  of  his  brother,  Sergius 
was  appointed  Governor  in  the  place  of  his  uncle. 

The  universal  disgust  and  discontent  brought 
Stotzas  on  the  scene  again,  only,  however,  to  be 
defeated  and  killed  in  battle  by  the  hand  of  John, 
the  son  of  Sismolus,  who  had  succeeded  Solomon. 
John  himself  was  killed,  a  few  days  afterwards, 
by  a  fall  from  his  horse.* 

Too  late,  Sergius  was  recalled,  and  Areobondas, 
a  weak  man,  unused  to  war  and  unskilled  in  af¬ 
fairs,  was  made  Exarch;  his  incapacity  was 
atoned  for  by  his  marriage  with  the  niece  of  the 
Emperor.  He  came  only  to  be  murdered  by  the 
chief  of  his  guard,  Gontharis,  who  himself  was 
murdered  by  Artaban  after  a  reign  of  thirty  days. 
Artaban,  an  Armenian  prince,  rebelled,  was  first 

*This  is  the  account  given  by  Procopius  (ii.  18),  who  adds  that 
John  and  Stotzas  were  personal  enemies.  According  to  Gibbon 
( vide  p.  202),  John  was  killed  by  Stotzas;  according  to  Corippus, 
by  the  standard-bearer  of  Stotzas. 


210 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


imprisoned,  then  pardoned,  and  finally  entrusted 
with  the  command  of  the  troops  despatched  to 
Italy,  and  distinguished  himself  in  the  war  in 
Sicily. 

After  the  death  of  Gontharis,  another  John, 
“the  brother  of  Pappas, ??  was  appointed  Gover¬ 
nor,  a.d.  545.  He  succeeded  in  tranquillising 
Africa,  and,  with  the  help  of  the  native  chief, 
Koutsina,  repulsed  an  inroad  of  the  Leucathians 
from  Tripoli ;  and  so,  at  last,  says  Procopius,  the 
Africans,  “being  very  few  in  number  and  very 
poor,’?  had  a  time  of  peace. 

But  these  continued  and  devastating  wars  were 
fast  reducing  the  unhappy  country  to  a  desert. 
The  Vandals,  who,  it  is  estimated,  numbered  one 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  men  who  drew  the 
sword,  besides  women  and  children,  had  been  an¬ 
nihilated;  the  number  of  natives  who  had  fallen 
in  the  truceless  and  merciless  war  was  far  larger, 
and  to  these  must  be  added  the  Romans  and  By¬ 
zantines  who  had  been  slain  in  the  savage  re¬ 
prisals  of  a  desperate  foe. 

When  Procopius  landed  near  Tripoli  with  Bel- 
isarius,  and  marched  with  him  through  Byzacene 
to  Carthage,  he  spoke  with  admiration  of  the 
populous  cities,  the  teeming  countryside,  the 
commerce,  the  industries,  of  which  he  saw  proofs 
on  all  sides.  In  twenty  years  the  whole  of  that 
busy  scene  had  been  reduced  to  silent  solitude. 
The  numbers  who  fell  have  been  estimated  at  five 
millions,  and  neither  Gibbon  nor  any  other  his¬ 
torian  has  seen  reason  to  consider  this  an  exag- 


211 


Res  Ultimse,  a.d.  423-550 

geration.  For  a  hundred  years  longer  the  Greek 
Emperors  maintained  a  nominal  empire  over  an 
Africa  which  had  shrunk  until  it  included  little 
more  than  Carthage,  a  few  cities,  and  a  fringe  of 
territory  near  the  sea.  Then  the  flood  of  Arab 
invasion  burst  in,  and  the  sun  of  the  mighty 
dynasty  of  Rome  in  Africa  set  for  ever. 


CHAPTER  XII 


A  BYZANTINE  FORTRESS 

Tebessa 

Very  wonderful  are  the  Roman  ruins,  the  cada¬ 
ver  a  oppidum,  which  lie  scattered  broadcast  over 
Tunisia,  and,  in  a  lesser  degree,  Algeria  also. 
But  they  are  the  result  of  a  settled  occupation 
extending  over  a  period  of  some  two  or  three 
hundred  years.  Even  more  extraordinary  are  the 
numberless  fortresses  which  the  Byzantines 
erected  in  little  more  than  one-tenth  of  that  time. 

The  Vandals  had  destroyed  the  defences  of  the 
cities,  and  this  ruin  it  was  that  the  Byzantines  set 
themselves  to  remedy.  To  rebuild  the  walls  in  the 
time  at  their  disposal  was  manifestly  impossible ; 
equally  impossible  was  it  to  leave  the  cities  de¬ 
fenceless;  for  no  place  was  safe  from  attack 
unless  it  was  able  to  resist  it.  To  be  even  moder¬ 
ately  secure  from  continual  forays,  the  whole 
country  had  to  be  studded  with  fortresses;  and 
this  was  done.  It  is  hard  to  find  the  remains  of 
any  considerable  town  or  village  without  its  By¬ 
zantine  fortress.  Many  of  these  strongholds  exist 
still;  a  few  are  to-day  in  ‘use  for  their  original 
purposes.  The  Arab  towns  of  Tebessa  and  Mila, 
and  the  French  camps  at  Guelma  and  Setiff,  are 
still  sheltered  by  the  old  Greek  walls.  Strong, 


212 


213 


A  Byzantine  Fortress 

stern,  and  business-like,  hardly  injured  by  their 
life  of  fifteen  centuries,  they  give  an  exalted 
opinion  of  the  military  skill  of  their  architects  and 
of  the  thoroughness  of  their  work. 

Where  it  was  possible,  existing  buildings  were 
utilised  and  adapted  to  their  new  uses.  At  Sufe- 
tula  (Sbeitla)  the  vast  enceinte  of  the  Capitol 
was  made  the  nucleus  of  the  defences  of  the  city ; 
little  was  needed  here  except  to  block  up  the  open¬ 
ings  in  the  walls,  and  make  embrasures.  Other 
buildings  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  great 
temple  were  turned  into  subsidiary  redoubts.  In 
the  same  way  the  smaller  Capitol  at  Dougga  be¬ 
came  the  keep  of  an  enciente  which  shut  in  the 
town.  At  Tebessa  a  large  part*  of  the  city  was 
re-walled,  and  a  great  monastery  close  by  was 
converted  into  a  cavalry  oarrack.  At  Ammoedara 
(Haidra),  in  addition  to  a  very  important  for¬ 
tress,  a  splendid  triumphal  arch  was  enclosed  with 
walls  and  made  a  detached  keep.  Elsewhere, 
as  at  Thuhursicum  Bure  (Teboursouk),  although 
the  fortress  was  new,  two  triumphal  arches  were 
incorporated  in  the  walls. 

For  the  most  part,  the  buildings  were  very 
much  on  the  same  plan:  a  quadrangle,  more  or 
less  extended  and  regular,  with  lofty  towers  at 
the  angles,  projecting  outwards,  not  inwards,  as 
with  the  Roman  work  at  Lambsesis  (Lambessa). 
Other  towns  protected  the  walls  at  intervals,  and 
flanked  the  gates ;  the  walls  were  thick  enough  to 
allow  of  a  pathway  protected  by  battlements,  and 

*  Probably  about  one-third. 


214  Studies  in  North  Africa 

approached  by  staircases  leaning  against  the  wall, 
being  carried  along  the  top.  The  interior  was  oc¬ 
cupied  with  the  various  buildings  needed  by  the 
soldiers,  especially  a  church,  without  which  no 
Byzantine  fortress  was  complete. 

One  other  thing  they  all  have  in  common :  they 
were  built  of  old  materials.  The  Byzantines  had 
neither  time  nor  money  to  quarry  new.  Nor  was 
it  necessary.  The  stones  were  there  ready  to  be 
used.  There  was  no  need  to  imitate  the  Barberini, 
worse  than  the  Barbari,  and  many  another  Roman 
Pope  or  noble,  and  destroy  temple  or  colosseum  in 
order  to  steal  the  stones  or  marbles.  The  old 
Pagan  temples  were  in  ruins,  the  Donatists  had 
wrecked  the  Christian  churches,  the  Vandals  had 
pulled  down  the  city  walls — all  the  necessary  ma¬ 
terials  were  there,  ready  at  hand. 

The  most  perfect  detached  fortress,  for  the  de¬ 
fence  of  an  unwalled  city,  is  that  at  Ammcedara 
(Haidra).  It  stands  on  the  southern  slope  of  a 
steep  hill,  and  rests  upon  the  bank  of  a  perennial 
stream,  the  Oued  Haidra.  The  river  was  crossed 
by  a  bridge  of  a  single  arch  of  a  hundred  feet 
span.  The  river  wall  was  restored  in  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century.  The  form  of  the  fortress  was  a 
very  irregular  quadrangle  of  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  yards  by  two  hundred  and  twenty. 
The  wall  was  strengthened  with  ten  towers,  all 
square  except  one,  which  was  round.  There  were 
several  gates:  the  most  important,  namely,  the 
great  entrance  from  the  north,  and  the  water-gate 
to  the  south,  were  protected  with  towers;  others 


\ 


215 


A  Byzantine  Fortress 

were  mere  unprotected  posterns.  As  usual,  a 
pathway  ran  along  the  whole  circuit  of  the  walls, 
as  at  Chester.  Against  the  western  wall  stood 
the  church ;  it  consisted  of  a  nave  and  aisles.  The 
porch  was  flanked  by  a  lofty  tower.  A  large  space 
on  the  north-east  corner,  the  only  angle  where 
there  was  no  tower,  was  partly,  if  not  entirely, 
roofed  in,  and  served  as  the  Pretorium  or  Forum 
or  market — possibly  as  all  three. 

The  fortress  which  defended  Timgad,  though 
not  so  large,  is  almost  equally  perfect,  and  much 
more  accessible. 

More  important  and  perfect  still,  a  testimony 
to  its  strategical  value,  is  the  walled  city  of  The- 
veste  (Tebessa)  on  the  southern  slope  of  the 
Aures.  It  was  the  first  place  fortified  by  the 
Third  Legion,  to  protect  the  line  of  communica¬ 
tion  between  the  Hodra  and  the  sea.  Eebuilt  in 
a.d.  535  by  the  eunuch  Solomon,  it  is  still  strongly 
garrisoned  by  the  French.  On  this  point  all  the 
great  roads  converge,  from  Lambsesis  and  Mas- 
cula  (Khenchela)  to  the  west,  from  the  desert  to 
the  south,  from  Haidra  and  Central  Tunisia  to 
the  east,  from  Carthage  and  Cirta  through 
Thagaste  (Souk  Ahras)  and  Madauros  (Mdaou- 
rouch)  to  the  north. 

From  the  very  first,  even  after  the  headquar¬ 
ters  of  the  Legion  had  been  moved  to  Lambaesis, 
its  importance  has  remained  but  little  impaired. 
Standing  at  a  height  of  3,000  feet  above  the  sea 
on  the  gentle  slopes  of  the  still  wooded  mountains 
of  the  Aures,  it  commands  a  vast  upland  plain, 


216  Studies  in  North  Africa 


once  of  great  fertility,  which  stretches  in  a  great 
semicircle  to  the  north-east  and  north-west.  To¬ 
day  its  chief  exports  are  half  a  (esparto  grass) 
and  phosphates,  immense  deposits  of  which  have 
been  discovered  in  the  hills  between  it  and  Haidra. 

The  journey  by  the  light  railway  which  runs 
from  Thagaste  (Souk  Ahras)  to  Tebessa  is  in¬ 
teresting  and,  in  parts,  beautiful.  For  the  first 
few  miles  the  little  train  winds  on  and  up  through 
the  gorge  of  the  Medjerba,  between  lofty  rocks 
.clothed  with  oaks,  elms,  and  cork  trees,  with  occa¬ 
sional  grassy  hollows,  a  pleasant  change  from  the 
arid,  treeless  wastes  to  which  the  traveller  is  ac¬ 
customed.  A  run,  or  saunter,  of  twenty  miles 
brings  us  to  Mdaourouch,  and  the  open  plain  be 
gins.  To  the  left  at  a  distance  of  about  three 
miles,  lie  the  important  ruins  of  Madauros,  the 
birthplace  of  the  satirist  Apuleius;  a  beautiful 
Roman  mausoleum,  the  remains  of  vast  thermae, 
and  of  a  great  Byzantine  fortress,  still  mark  the 
spot.  Here  the  river  dwindles  to  a  rivulet,  and 
the  rivulet  to  a  trickle,  and  at  last  vanishes.  We 
have  reached  the  watershed,  and  soon  another 
trickle  tells  us  that  we  are  by  the  source  of  the 
Meilegue.  Then  the  line,  after  passing  the  con¬ 
siderable  ruins  of  another  town,  not  yet  identified, 
runs  round  the  base  of  some  strange  splintered 
mountain  crags  which  rise  abruptly  from  the 
plain.  The  summit  of  one  of  them  is  pierced  by 
a  curious  circular  hole,  like  that  at  Torghatten,  in 
Norway. 

At  last,  at  the  foot  of  the  wooded  range  of  the 


217 


A  Byzantine  Fortress 

Aures,  Tebessa  comes  in  sight,  lonely  and  for¬ 
saken  in  its  great  circle  of  walls,  like  the  desolate 
little  town  of  Aigues  Mortes  from  which  St.  Louis 
sailed  on  his  last  crusade  to  die  at  Tunis. 

The  town  itself  is  a  shabby  little  place,  but  its 
monuments  are  of  profound  interest.  Chief 
amongst  them  are  the  great  encircling  walls  which 
Solomon  erected  for  its  defence.  The  part  en¬ 
closed,  like  Timgad,  which  is  of  almost  the  same 
size,  is  nearly  a  square,  three  hundred  and  sixty 
yards  by  three  hundred  and  ten.  The  walls,  which 
average  thirty  to  thirty-three  feet  in  height  and 
seven  feet  in  thickness,  are  strengthened  by  four¬ 
teen  towers  of  an  average  height  of  fifty-five  to 
sixty  feet ;  the  protected  footway  which  runs  along 
the  top  is  reached,  as  usual,  by  staircases  built 
against  the  wall.  The  south  wall  has,  in  part, 
been  built  upon  the  scena  of  the  theatre.  The 
pulpitum  still  remains  almost  uninjured;  upon  it 
are  heaped  huge  drums  of  the  marble  columns. 

There  are  three  gates.  That  in  the  north  wall, 
known  as  the  Old  Gate,  the  Bab-el-Khedima,  is 
formed  by  the  splendid  arch  of  Caracalla.  Over 
our  heads  as  we  pass  through  it  into  the  town  is 
an  inscription  which  relates  how  Solomon,  “the 
most  glorious  and  very  excellent  Master  of  the 
Soldiers,  Praefect  of  Libya  and  Patrician,”  built 
the  wall  and  fortified  the  city.  He  was  himself 
killed  in  battle  in  the  neighbourhood.  Another 
inscription  in  the  interior  of  the  arch  records  that 
it  was  erected  in  accordance  with  the  will  of 
Cornelius  Egrilianus,  at  a  cost  of  two  hundred 


218  Studies  in  North  Africa 


and  fifty  thousand  sesterces  (£2,680).  In  the  east 
wall  a  cnrionsly  narrow  machicolated  gateway, 
flanked  by  two  boldly  projecting  towers,  bears 
the  name  of  Solomon.  To  the  west  the  Constan¬ 
tine  Gate  led  to  the  circus.  The  main  thorough¬ 
fare  lay  between  these  gates.  The  south  wall  has 
no  opening.  It  has  been  calculated  that  the  work 
of  erecting  the  wall  and  towers  would  occupy 
eight  hundred  men  for  two  years. 

There  is  no  trace  of  any  fosse  or  moat.  Evi¬ 
dently  the  builders  considered  that  such  walls 
were  a  sufficient  defence  against  any  attack  that 
the  wild  tribes  might  be  able  to  make  upon  the 
town. 

Just  inside  the  walls,  and  close  to  the  Old  Gate, 
is  the  Temple  of  Minerva — so  called.  The  Naos, 
resting  on  a  lofty  podium,  and  approached  by  a 
flight  of  twenty  steps,  is  very  perfect.  In  date 
and  beauty  it  lies  between  the  austere  little 
Temple  of  Fortuna  Virilis  at  Rome  and  the  lovely 
Maison  Carree  at  Nimes,  to  which  it  is  frequently 
compared.  In  style  it  is  tetrastyle  pseudo-pteri- 
pteral  stylobate ;  that  is,  it  rests  upon  a  platform, 
and  has  four  pillars  in  front,  which  are  not  con¬ 
tinued  round  the  cella  except  as  engaged  pilasters. 
Round  the  Naos  runs  an  architrave,  divided  into 
square  panels  and  decorated  with  ox-heads  and 
eagles  with  outstretched  wings  holding  serpents 
in  their  claws.  The  attic  is  somewhat  heavily 
carved  with  garlands,  cornucopias,  trophies, 
masks,  images  of  gods,  Victories,  and  so  on.  The 
pediment  and  roof,  if  they  ever  existed,  have  per- 


219 


A  Byzantine  Fortress 

ished.  The  building  has  been  put  to  sHange  uses. 
In  turns  a  soap  manufactory,  an  office  of  the  engi¬ 
neers,  a  tribunal  for  the  Moslems  (now  installed 
in  the  neighbouring  buildings),  a  canteen,  a  mili¬ 
tary  club,  and  a  church,  it  is  now  a  museum. 

Leaving  the  town  by  the  Old  Gate,  a  long, 
straight,  dusty  road,  lined  with  trees,  seems  to 
stretch  out  into  infinity.  Following  it  for  some 
six  hundred  yards,  we  come  to  the  ruins  of  the 
great  monastery,  the  most  important  ecclesiastical 
monument  in  North  Africa.  The  day  was  hot  and 
the  sky  cloudless.  The  natives  whom  we  met 
coming  into  the  town  with  their  laden  donkeys, 
or  passed  sitting  in  the  sun  at  the  door  of  their 
gourbis,  regarded  us  with  the  solemn,  silent 
scrutiny  which  is  all  they  commonly  vouchsafe 
to  infidels,  unless  there  is  money  to  be  made. 
Happily  for  us,  they  were  too  lazy  or  too  dis¬ 
trustful  of  their  French,  to  press  their  services 
upon  us  as  guides,  and  so,  in  a  peace  vvdiich  was 
as  delightful  as  it  was  unusual,  we  reached  the 
vast  mass  of  grey  ruins  which  we  had  come  so  far 
to  see.* 

It  lay  to  the  left  of  the  road,  surrounded  by  a 
desolate  plain  stretching  to  the  desolate  moun¬ 
tains,  itself  more  desolate  even  than  they. 

What  must  have  been  once  a  grand  monumental 
gateway  opens  upon  a  broad  terrace  about  sixty 

*  After  careful  examination  of  the  ruins,  the  account  given  in 
the  text  seems  to  be  the  most-  satisfactory.  Some  writers,  how¬ 
ever,  arc  of  opinion  that  the  “Cloister”  was  a  market,  the  four 
“squares”  pens  for  cattle,  and  the  “Befectory”  always  and  only 
a  stable. 


220  Studies  in  North  Africa 

yards  long ;  to  the  left  lies  the  cloister,  to  the  right 
the  church.  The  terrace  is  closed  by  a  second 
gateway ;  passing  through  this,  we  find  to  our  left 
the  refectory,  to  our  right  the  other  monastic 
buildings.  The  whole  was  enclosed  by  a  wall, 
strengthened  by  seven  towers,  projecting  inwards. 
Against  the  wall,  as  well  as  against  the  church, 
were  built  the  cells  of  the  monks. 

The  cloister  ran  round  three  sides  of  a  square, 
at  a  height  of  about  six  feet  above  the  ground; 
along  the  fourth  side  ran  the  terrace  and  the 
fagade  of  the  church.  The  garth,  as  we  should 
call  it  in  England,  was  divided  into  four  by  two 
paths  which  intersected  in  the  middle.  It  appears 
that  these  four  squares  were  basins  which  could 
be  flooded,  at  any  rate  during  the  great  heats  of 
the  summer. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  terrace,  a  flight  of  four¬ 
teen  steps  led  up  to  the  pillared  portico  of  the 
great  church.  Through  this  we  pass  into  the 
atrium,  surrounded  by  a  colonnade.  In  the  centre 
was  a  quatrefoil  fountain  with  pillars  supporting 
a  dome.  To  the  right  a  doorway  leads  into  the 
baptistery.  Elsewhere,  especially  at  Timgad, 
the  baptistery  forms  a  very  important  and  beau¬ 
tiful  feature  of  the  church.  Here  it  has  been  re¬ 
duced,  by  exigencies  of  space,  to  little  more  than 
a  passage,  with  a  tiny  circular  font  not  more  than 
five  feet  in  diameter. 

From  the  atrium  three  gateways  open  into  the 
church,  which  is  of  grand  proportions.  The  nave 
is  separated  from  its  aisles  by  an  arcade  of  ten 


A  Byzantine  Fortress  221 

arches  resting  upon  square  piers  in  front  of 
which  were  marble  columns.  Above  this  a  similar 
arcade  opened  upon  a  gallery,  as  at  St.  Agnese  at 
Rome.  Above  this  rose  the  clerestory. 

The  last  three  bays  of  the  nave,  enclosed  by  a 
cancellus,  or  screen,  formed  the  sanctuary,  in  the 
middle  of  which,  resting  on  a  step  or  platform 
which  still  remains,  stood  the  altar,  probably  of 
wood.  Beyond  the  nave,  two  lateral  flights  of 
three  steps  led  to  the  semicircular  apse  or  pres¬ 
bytery.  Round  this  were  ranged  the  seats  for  the 
chapter,  with  the  throne  for  the  bishop  in  the 
centre.  It  is  the  usual  basilican  arrangement, 
similar  to  that  at  Torcello,  so  nobly  pictured  by 
R'uskin  in  his  Stones  of  Venice .  Other  even  more 
familiar  examples  are  to  be  found  in  St.  Ambrogio 
at  Milan  or  St.  Clemente  at  Rome. 

The  mosaic  floor  of  the  church,  though,  now,  ter¬ 
ribly  damaged,  must  have  been  of  very  great 
beauty,  and  if,  as  M.  Alb.  Ballu  believes,  the  walls 
and  vaultings  were  enriched  with  marble  panel¬ 
ling  and  mosaics,  the  effect  must  have  been 
extremely  rich. 

On  the  right-hand  side  on  entering  the  church 
a  broad  flight  of  twelve  steps  led  down  into  a  beau¬ 
tiful  tref oiled  chapel  or  trichorum  similar  to  that 
in  the  Damous-el-Karita  at  Carthage.  Many 
tombs  have  been  found  in  it,  some  below,  others 
several  feet  above,  the  original  mosaic  floor  of  the 
chapel.  One  of  these,  a  fine  sarcophagus  of  mar¬ 
ble,  now  forms  the  high  altar  of  the  modern 
church :  another  as  the  inscription  tells  us,  was  the 


222  Studies  in  North  Africa 


tomb  of  Bishop  P  alia  dins,  who  died  a.d.  488.  As 
at  Carthage,  the  name  of  the  saint  to  whom  this 
beautiful  chapel  was  dedicated  is  unknown. 
Doubtless  he  was  buried  in  the  centre,  beneath  the 
altar. 

To  the  right  a  large  room  or  sacristy  runs  par¬ 
allel  to  the  atrium,  leaving,  as  already  said,  a  very 
narrow  space  between  the  two  for  the  baptistery. 

All  these  buildings  belong  to  the  fourth  century. 
At  the  close  of  that  century,  Augustine,  who  had 
become  acquainted  with  the  monastic  life  at  Milan, 
built  a  little  cell  for  himself  and  his  friends  Alypius 
and  Evodius  on  an  estate  of  his  own  at  Thagaste 
(Souk  Ahras).  Afterwards  he  founded  the  first 
monastery  in  Africa  at  Hippo;  and  at  about  the 
same  time — that  is,  early  in  the  fifth  century — 
monastic  buildings  began  to  gather  round  the  ba¬ 
silica  at  Theveste.  Cells  for  the  monks  were  built 
against  the  walls  of  the  church,  as  in  the  Temple 
of  Solomon,  and  then  was  built  also  the  great  hall 
or  refectory  which  ran  by  the  side  of  the  cloister. 

If,  on  entering  the  monastery  through  the  great 
gateway,  instead  of  turning  to  the  left  into  the 
cloister,  or  to  the  right  into  the  church,  we  pass 
on  through  to  the  second  gateway  beyond,  we  find 
on  our  left  a  vast  and  very  splendid  hall  extending 
the  whole  length  of  the  cloister — that  is,  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  Two  rows  of  arches 
resting  on  square  piers  divided  it  into  three  equal 
aisles.  From  each  of  the  sides,  ten  walls  ran  out 
to  a  distance  of  six  feet,  thus  dividing  this  part  of 
the  hall  into  cubicles  or  cells.  All  this  suggests 


TEMPLE  AT  TEBESSA 


A  Byzantine  Fortress  223 

that  the  building  was  a  refectory  or  library  or 
conversorium — perhaps  all  three. 

Down  the  middle  of  each  of  the  side  aisles  runs 
a  low  wall  about  three  feet  high,  divided  into  par¬ 
titions  of  about  three  feet  by  upright  stones  of  the 
same  height:  these  were  kept  in  their  places  by 
a  course  of  stones  resting  upon  the  top,  and 
stretching  from  one  to  the  other.  The  space  be¬ 
tween  these  uprights  is  hollowed  out  into  a  trough 
or  manger ;  and  through  the  edge  of  the  uprights, 
sometimes  through  the  mangers  also,  holes  have 
been  pierced,  worn  smooth  on  the  inside  by  the 
friction  of  the  ropes  or  halters.  There  are  eighty 
of  these  stalls;  forty  on  each  side. 

That  these  are  stalls  for  horses  is  clear:  a 
precisely  similar  arrangement  is  to  be  found  in 
a  house  at  Timgad.  But  it  is  hard  to  believe  that 
the  hall  was  built  as  a  stable.  If  it  was  not,  when 
and  by  whom  were  the  alterations  made?  Every¬ 
thing  seems  to  support  the  view  that  it  was  the 
work  of  the  Byzantines.  Tebessa,  like  Timgad, 
was  a  stronghold  of  the  Donatists,  and  when  Sol¬ 
omon  came  in  a.d.  535  he  doubtless  found  the  mon¬ 
astery  deserted  and  in  ruins.  As  he  rebuilt  the 
walls  of  the  town,  and  made  it  once  more  a  fort¬ 
ress,  so  he  turned  the  ruined  monastery  into  a 
cavalry  barrack.  The  basilica  he  respected,  and, 
as  it  was  too  ruinous  to  use,  and  too  large  to  re¬ 
store,  he  erected  a  small  church  by  the  side  of  the 
trefoiled  chapel.  The  refectory  he  utilised  as  a 
stable,  the  cells  of  the  monks  as  barracks  for  his 
soldiers. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


RASSOUL  ALLAH,  A.D.  622-1453 

It  is  said  that  Schiller  once  thought  of  taking 
Mohammed  as  the  subject  of  a  tragedy,  treating 
him,  as  Browning  did  Paracelsus,  and  George 
Eliot  Savonarola,  as  a  man  who  began  with  an 
honest  enthusiasm  and  faith  in  himself  and  his 
mission,  but  was  driven  on,  step  by  step,  by  the 
force  of  circumstances  and  the  pressure  of  unwise 
followers,  into  extremes  which  he  never  contem¬ 
plated,  and  which  make  it  hard  to  decide  whether 
he  deceived  others  only  or  himself  also. 

In  any  case,  it  is  clear  that  the  idea  of  a  uni¬ 
versal  religion,  and  of  a  world  evangelised  by  fire 
and  sword,  was  never  dreamt  of  by  Mohammed. 
He  began  simply  as  reformer.  There  was  nothing 
new  about  him,  except  his  enthusiasm  for  the  old. 
His  heart  was  stirred  when  he  saw  his  people 
given  up  to  idolatry.  His  rejection  at  Mecca  em¬ 
bittered  him,  and  the  weapons  used  against  him  to 
drive  him  out  were  the  only  ones  by  which  he 
could  secure  his  return.  Far  from  receiving  the 
new  evangel  with  enthusiasm,  the  Arabs  yielded 
reluctantly,  and  under  compulsion,  and,  on  the 
death  of  the  Prophet  in  a.d.  632,  rose  at  once  in 
revolt  against  his  successor. 

Mohammed  left  no  son,  and  the  people  of  Medina 


224 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  225 

elected  Abou  Bekr,  father  of  his  favourite  wife, 
Ayishah,  to  fill  the  vacant  post,  under  the  title  of 
Khalifah,  or  Successor.  To  combat  the  rebellious 
tribes,  Abou  Bekr  formed  his  followers  into  a  reg¬ 
ular  army,  and  crushed  the  insurrection.  Realis¬ 
ing  that  the  simplest  and  surest  way  of  ensuring 
the  supremacy  of  Islam  was  to  employ  the  wild, 
unruly  warriors  elsewhere,  he  launched  them  upon 
the  decaying  empires  of  Constantinople  and  Per¬ 
sia,  “torn  to  pieces  by  war,  enervated  by  luxury, 
and  gangrened  with  corruption.”  The  congenial 
employment  of  fighting,  and  the  prospect  of  booty 
in  this  world  and  paradise  in  the  next,  repaid  the 
Arabs  for  their  submission  to  the  Law  and 
Prophet  of  Mecca. 

On  August  22,  a.d.  634,  the  day  of  the  fall  of 
Damascus,  Abou  Bekr  died.  Omar  ibn  al  Khattab, 
father  of  the  Prophet’s  third  wife,  Hafsah,  suc¬ 
ceeded  him.  He  was  the  first  to  offer  prayers 
openly  at  the  Kaaba,  and  to  collect  the  Prophet’s 
scattered  writings  into  the  Koran.  His  declara¬ 
tion  of  policy  on  his  election  deserves  to  be  re¬ 
peated.  “By  God,  he  that  is  weakest  among 
you  shall  be  in  my  sight  the  strongest  until  I  have 
vindicated  for  him  his  rights,  but  him  that  is 
strongest  will  I  treat  as  weakest  until  he  complies 
with  the  laws.”  To  him  was  due  the  great  spread 
of  Islamism.  His  generals  drove  the  Greeks  out 
of  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  and  by  the  conquest  of 
al-Iragan,  completed  the  overthrow  of  the  Empire 
of  Persia.  At  the  same  time  Amr  ibn  al  Asi  con¬ 
quered  Egypt,  with  the  aid  of  the  Coptic  Chris- 


226  Studies  in  North  Africa 


tians,  and  signalised  his  victory  by  the  destruction 
of  the  priceless  library  at  Alexandria.  “If  these 
books  contradict  the  Koran,  they  are  false ;  if  they 
agree  with  it,  they  are  useless.  ”  The  argument 
was  unanswerable,  and  the  books  were  burnt. 

Omar  was  murdered  in  a.h.  23  (a.d.  644).  His 
dying  words  are  his  best  epitaph:  “It  had  gone 
hard  with  my  soul  if  I  had  not  been  a  Moslem.’ ’ 

Masters  of  Egypt,  with  an  appetite  which  grew 
by  eating,  the  wild  hordes  pressed  on  triumphantly 
to  the  Maghreb  with  a  zeal  in  which  religion  had 
but  little  place.  Their  forays  were  conducted  with 
the  savagery  which  came  natural^  to  them,  but 
there  was  none  of  that  fanatical  hatred  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  which  the  bigotry  of  the  Turks  has  taught 
us  to  associate  with  Islamism;  each  tribe  they 
attacked  was  perfectly  free  to  resist,  or  to  adopt 
Islamism,  or  to  pay  tribute. 

The  Berbers,  as  they  now  began  to  be  called,  had 
never  been  remarkable  for  the  strength  of  their 
religious  convictions,  though  they  occasionally 
showed  themselves  capable  of  an  exalted  enthu¬ 
siasm  for  some  congenial  heresy  or  schism.  Per¬ 
haps  it  would  be  more  true  to  say  that  they  were 
willing  to  adopt  any  religion  outwardly,  as  long 
as,  under  its  shield,  they  were  able  to  preserve  the 
traditional  faith,  and,  in  part  at  least,  the  tradi¬ 
tional  rites  of  their  forefathers.  The  religion  of 
Rome  had  been  easily  absorbed.  Hammon  became 
Saturn,  and  Tanith  Coelestis.  Then  had  come 
Christianity  with  its  alluring  doctrine  that  within 
the  fold  there  was  to  be  “neither  barbarian,  Scy- 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  227 

thian,  bond  nor  free/’  and  its  supreme  attraction 
that  it  was  considered  to  represent  disloyalty  to 
the  Emperor.  But  the  quiet  sobriety  of  the  Cath¬ 
olic  faith  had  never  possessed  such  charms  for 
them  as  the  violent  extremes  of  Montanism,  and 
the  wild  extravagances  of  Donatism  and  of  the 
Circumcelliones.  Then  had  appeared  the  Vandals, 
and  their  easy  Arianism  was  a  welcome  change 
from  what  had  become  the  official  religion  of  their 
Roman  masters.  Finally  the  Byzantine  invaders 
had  brought  back  orthodoxy  and  striven  to  enforce 
it  with  most  unwise  severity. 

Paganism,  Catholicism,  Montanism,  Donatism, 
Arianism,  Orthodoxy — each  in  turn  had  been 
taught  as  final  and  complete  truth.  What  wonder 
if,  bewildered  and  perplexed,  the  Berbers  bowed 
to  each  just  so  far  as  necessary,  and  clung  quietly 
and  faithfully  to  their  old  beliefs — as  they  cling 
still. 

In  the  seventh  century,  the  Arianism  of  the 
Vandals,  on  the  whole,  held  the  ground,  and  be¬ 
tween  this  and  Islam,  the  differences  were  not 
vital.  Both  agreed  in  the  first  half  of  the  great 
confession  of  faith:  “La  ilaha  ill  Allah, ”  “There 
is  no  God,  or  Divinity,  but  God.”  The  second 
half  was  of  secondary  importance:  “Mohammed 
Rassoul  Allah,”  “Mohammed  is  the  prophet  or 
apostle  of  God.”  With  regard  to  the  first  half, 
the  way  was  made  very  easy.  In  the  Koran  com¬ 
posed  by  the  King-Prophet,  Calih’  ben  T’arif,  for 
the  use  of  the  Borghouata  Berbers,  the  name  of 
God  appears,  not  as  Allah,  but  as  Iakouch,  or 


228  Studies  in  North  Africa 


Bakouch.  Thus,  “In  the  name  of  Allah,”  appears 
as  “Bism  en  Iakouch,”  and  the  great  formula, 
“Allah  Akbar,”  “God  is  great/’  is  rendered 
“Mok’k’ah  Iakouch,”  and  so  on.  And  this  con¬ 
tinued  until  the  destruction  of  the  tribe  in  the 
eleventh  century. 

Nor  was  this  all.  Islamism  practised  the  great 
doctrine  of  the  equality  of  all  men  within  the  fold, 
which  Christianity  had  contented  itself  with  teach¬ 
ing.  Every  Moslem  was  a  free  man,  could  hold 
property,  and  was  exempt  from  taxation.  Race 
privileges,  class  distinctions,  alien  landlordism, 
government  by  foreigners,  imperial  taxation,  all 
were  swept  away ;  while  unlimited  booty  and  glory 
were  offered  freely  to  all  who,  under  the  Prophet’s 
banner,  would  march  to  the  pillage  of  Europe. 

Still  the  resistance  of  the  Berbers  to  the  Arab 
invasion  was  desperate  and  prolonged,  and  we  are 
told  that  “they  apostatised  twelve  times.”  Even 
now  the  Mohammedanism  of  the  mountaineers  of 
the  Aures  and  Djurdjura  is  of  a  very  free  and 
unorthodox  type,  and  they  have  always  dealt  with 
the  civil  regulations  of  the  Koran  exactly  as  they 
have  chosen. 

On  the  murder  of  Omar,  Othman  ibn  Affan,  the 
husband  of  two  of  the  Prophet’s  daughters,  was 
elected  Khalifah,  against  the  vehement  protest  of 
Ali,  the  Prophet’s  adopted  son,  and  the  husband 
of  his  daughter  Fatimah,  one  of  the  four  perfect 
women,  and  the  only  one  through  whom  the  direct 
descent  from  the  Prophet  was  maintained.  But 
Othman  had  been  elected  by  the  six  emigrants  ap- 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  229 

pointed  for  the  purpose  by  Omar,  and  all  oppo¬ 
sition  was  in  vain ;  hut  the  dissensions  between  the 
two  led  eventually  to  the  division  of  Islam  into  the 
two  great  sects  of  “Sunnis,”  or  “Those  of  the 
Path,”  and  “Shi’ahs,”  or  “Followers”  of  Ali. 

In  the  year  of  Othman’s  succession,  a.d.  644, 
Amr  ibn  el  Asi  seized  Tripoli.  Three  years  later, 
a.d.  647,  under  the  command  of  Abd  Allah  ibn  ez 
Zobier,  the  Arab  host  poured  into  Ifrikya,  through 
the  south  of  Tunisia.  The  Prefect  Gregory,  or 
Djoredjir,  as  the  Arabs  called  him — much  as  the 
Spaniards  called  Hawkins  Achines,  or  Drake 
Draco — had  declared  his  independence  of  Con¬ 
stantinople,  and  assumed  the  purple.* 

The  battle  which  practically  ended  the  Byzan¬ 
tine  rule  was  fought  near  Sufetula  (Sbeitla) ; 
Gregory  was  completely  defeated  and  killed,  and 
Sbeitla  was  taken  and  sacked.  “The  daughter 
of  Djoredjir  had  accompanied  him,  and  was 
amongst  the  prisoners :  she  fell  to  the  lot  of  a  man 
of  Medina.  4 For  the  future,’  said  he,  as  he  lifted 
her  on  a  camel,  4  you  will  have  to  walk  a-foot,  and 
wait  on  other  women.’  4 What  is  the  dog  saying?’ 
she  asked.  When  she  was  told,  she  threw  herself 
from  the  camel  and  was  killed.”!  The  natives 
took  no  part  in  the  battle,  but  stood  beholding. 
The  surrounding  towns  purchased  immunity 

*  At  least  so  we  may  assume,  since  the  historian  Theophanes 
gives  him  the  title  of  “  Turannos. 7  J 

t  The  sentences  printed  in  inverted  commas  in  this  chapter  are, 
for  the  most  part,  condensed  from  the  summaries  of  the  chron¬ 
icles  given  by  Victor  Pi<piet  in  his  CiviHscitioTis  d&  l  A.fTiqu6  du 
Nord. 


230  Studies  in  North  Africa 

with  a  heavy  ransom;  no  surer  way  could  have 
been  devised  of  inviting  fresh  inroads  than  this 
of  proclaiming  that  they  were  rich  enough  to  pay, 
but  too  cowardly  to  fight.  However,  for  the  mo¬ 
ment  it  succeeded,  Abd  Allah  retired  with  his 
booty,  and  the  land  had  peace  for  thirty  years. 
The  causes  of  this  interval  of  rest  are  not  far  to 
seek. 

Things  were  not  going  well  at  headquarters; 
the  cause  of  the  trouble  seems  to  have  been  the 
intrigues  of  a  woman. 

In  his  old  age  Mohammed  had  fallen  completely 
under  the  influence  of  his  favourite  wife,  Ayishah, 
daughter  of  Abou  Bekr,  whom  he  had  married 
when  she  was  only  nine  years  old.  An  “ injusta 
noverca with  a  childless  woman’s  unreasoning 
jealousy  of  the  more  fortunate  Fatimah,  she  seems 
to  have  set  herself  at  every  turn  to  exclude  Ali 
and  his  sons  Hassan  and  Husein  from  the  Khali- 
fate.  Hitherto,  she  had  succeeded,  but  when,  in 
due  course,  a.d.  655,  Othman  was  also  murdered 
by  her  own  brother  Mohammed,  Ali  became  the 
obvious,  if  not  the  only,  candidate,  and  was  duly 
elected  at  Medina.  In  furious  anger  Ayishah  fled 
to  Damascus,  taking  with  her  the  blood-stained 
cloak  of  Othman,  to  which  she  fastened  the  fingers 
of  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  the  Prophet,  who  had 
been  murdered  with  him.  Boldly,  and  not  with¬ 
out  some  reason,  accusing  Ali  of,  at  least,  com¬ 
plicity  in  the  double  murder,  she  stirred  up  the 
Governor  of  Damascus,  Othman  ben  Mu’awiyah, 
of  the  family  of  Omaiyah,  to  revolt  and  proclaim 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  231 

himself  Khalifah.  Othman  needed  little  pressing. 
After  some  inconclusive  arbitration,  war  was  de¬ 
clared,  and  Ali  was  defeated  and  murdered,  a.d. 
661.  His  son  Hassan,  elected  as  his  successor,  had 
the  wisdom  to  decline  the  dangerous  honour,  and 
retired  to  Medina.*  This,  however,  did  not  save 
him  from  being  also  murdered  by  Yazed,  son  of 
Mu’awiyah;  as  was  also  his  brother  Husein. 

In  twenty-eight  years  four  out  of  five  Khalifahs 
had  been  murdered,  the  authentic  line  of  Perfect 
Khalifahs  was  extinguished,  and  the  direct  line  of 
descent  from  the  Prophet  cut  short.  Damascus 
became  the  capital  instead  of  Mecca,  and  Mu’- 
awiyah  founded  there  the  hereditary  dynasty  of 
the  Omeiades.  His  followers  adopted  and  practi¬ 
cally  usurped  the  name  of  Sunnites,  leaving  to  the 
followers  of  Ali  the  name  of  Shi’ahs.  It  has  been 
computed  that  now  the  Sunnites  number  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty-five  millions,  and  the  Shi’ahs 
fifteen. 

From  this  period  date  some  of  the  main  trunk 
schisms  of  Islam: — 

The  Sunnites,  “They  of  the  Path,”  or  Ortho¬ 
dox,  a  name  identified  with  the  Omeiades.  They 
took  their  name  from  Othman  ibn  Affan,  of  the 
family  of  Beni  Omeia :  it  was  to  this  family  that 
the  Khalifahs  of  Damascus  belonged. 

ShPahs,  or  “Followers,”  of  Ali.  These  re¬ 
jected  all  Imans  (they  do  not  use  the  word  Khali- 

*  It  is  for  this  reason  that,  in  the  picture  of  the  Perfect  Khali* 
fahs,  Hassan  is  represented  on  foot,  and  with  no  title  of  ‘  ‘  Sidi 1 1 
like  the  rest. 


232  Studies  in  North  Africa 

fah)  except  the  direct  descendants  of  Mohammed 
through  Ali  and  Fatimah. 

They  acknowledge  twelve  Imans.  The  last,  Mo¬ 
hammed,  son  of  A1  Hasan  al  Askari,  disappeared 
mysteriously  down  a  well  in  the  courtyard  of  a 
house  at  Hillah  near  Baghdad,  whence  he  will  re¬ 
turn  again  to  be  the  Mahdi  or  Guide,  who,  as  the 
Prophet  foretold  will  appear  before  the  Day  of 
Judgment. 

Kharedjites,  or  Dissenters.  These  were  the 
soldiers  of  Ali  who  deserted  him  when  he  sub¬ 
mitted  his  claim  to  arbitration.  They  recognised 
only  the  first  three  Khalifahs.  The  Berbers 
adopted  this  form  of  schism  in  a  body. 

Ouahbites,  a  name  of  the  Kharedjites,  from  the 
chief  Abd  Allah  ben  Ouahb. 

These  were  divided  into  two  other  sects — 

Xbadites,  from  their  founder,  Abd  Allah  ben 
Xbad;  and 

Sofrites,  from  their  founder,  Abd  Allah  ben 
Sofar. 

Other  sects  will  emerge  as  we  go  on.  Amongst 
the  seventy-three  sects  of  Islam,  thirty-two  are 
assigned  to  the  Shi  ’ all s. 

Now  that  these  domestic  differences  had  been 
adjusted,  the  attack  on  North  Africa  began  again. 
In  a.d.  678  (a.h.  46),  Okba  ibn  Nafi,  the  fiercest  of 
all  Moslem  fighters,  was  launched  against  the  By- 
zacene.  “Marching  against  the  country  of  the 
Ouezzan,  Okba  cut  off  an  ear  of  their  chief,  saying 
to  him,  ‘It  is  a  reminder;  when  you  put  your 
hand  to  your  ear  you  will  remember  that  it  is  not 


Rassoui  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  233 

well  to  fight  against  Arabs/  Then  Okba  overran 
the  Fezzan,  and  reached  the  country  of  the  Har- 
ouar;  he  cut  off  a  finger  of  their  chief,  as  a  re¬ 
minder  and  imposed  a  tribute  of  360  slaves/’ 
Stopped  in  his  advance  to  the  west  by  the  sand, 
“he  returned  to  the  country  of  the  Harouar,  whom 
he  found  sleeping  in  their  underground  dwellings. 
He  cut  the  throats  of  all  the  men  of  war,  seized 
their  children  and  riches,  and  went  his  way.  ’  ’ 

Another  swarm  of  Arabs  under  the  command  of 
Maouia  ben  Hadaidj  advanced  north,  and  at¬ 
tacked  Djohera  (Hadrumetum  or  Sousse).  “The 
Emperor  of  the  East  sent  thirty  thousand  soldiers 
to  defend  the  country;  they  landed  at  Djohera, 
Maouia  marched  against  the  place,  and,  when  he 
arrived  in  sight  of  the  ramparts,  alighted  from  his 
horse,  and  offered  certain  prayers  before  his 
troops.  The  Byzantines  were  at  first  filled  with 
astonishment,  then  they  advanced  against  the 
Moslems.  Maouia  was  still  prostrate  on  the 
ground  when  the  first  infidels  approached ;  then  he 
mounted  his  horse  and  charged  the  enemy,  whom 
he  cut  to  pieces.  The  soldiers  of  Byzantium  then 
re-embarked.  ’  ’ 

Okba  was  invested  by  the  Khalifahs  with  the 
government  of  the  new  province;  he  conquered 
Byzacene,  and  founded  Kairouan  on  the  spot 
where  Sidi  Sahab,  one  of  the  “ Associates’ ’  of  the 
Prophet,  had  been  buried;  thus  for  the  first  time 
the  Arabs  had  a  settlement  in  the  new  country. 

But  as  yet  their  foothold  was  very  insecure.  The 
Byzantines  were  conquered,  and  the  Berbers  had 


234  Studies  in  North  Africa 

as  usual,  watched  the  conflict  with  a  benevolent 
aloofness  and  unconcern.  Now  their  turn  was 
coming,  and  they  at  once  prepared  for  a  des¬ 
perate  resistance.  Okba  had  been  recalled  by  the 
Khalifahs  and  replaced  by  one  of  his  rivals,  El 
Mohadjer,  who  began  his  work  by  destroying 
Okba’s  resting-place  or  Caravan.  In  a.d.  680, 
Okba  was  reinstated  by  Yezid,  son  of  Mu’awiyah, 
returned,  rebuilt  Kairouan,  and  started  on  a  wild 
marauding  foray  to  the  west ;  dragging  with  him 
El  Mohadjer  in  chains.  Against  the  fortified 
towns,  Tabessa,  Timgad,  and  the  rest,  his  fury 
was  spent  in  vain,  but  he  fell  upon  the  great  tribe 
of  the  Aoureba  and  exterminated  it,  and  carried 
away  captive  in  his  train  the  King,  Koceila.  Con¬ 
trary  to  the  advice  of  El  Mohadjer,  he  treated 
him  with  characteristic  insolence.  One  day  he  sent 
him  to  kill  a  sheep.  Seeing  him  wipe  his  bloody 
hand  on  his  beard,  he  demanded  what  he  meant. 
“Nothing,’ ’  was  the  answer;  “it  is  good  for  the 
hair.”  At  last,  “arriving  on  the  shore  of  the 
ocean,  he  raised  the  standard  of  the  Prophet,  and, 
making  it  follow  the  course  of  the  sun  from  its 
rising  to  its  setting,  he  dashed  into  the  waves  up 
to  his  horse’s  chest,  crying,  ‘God  of  Mohammed, 
if  I  were  not  stopped  by  the  waves  of  this  sea, 
I  would  go  even  to  the  most  distant  land,  to  bear 
the  glory  of  Thy  name,  to  fight  for  Thy  religion, 
and  to  destroy  all  who  will  not  believe  on  Thee.” 

Then  he  turned,  to  fight  his  way  back  again  as 
best  he  might.  He  reached  the  Hodna  in  safety. 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  235 

There  he  divided  his  forces.  The  main  body  with 
the  booty,  he  sent  forward  by  the  road  which  ran 
through  the  still  fertile  plains  to  the  north  of  the 
Anres.  He  himself,  with  three  hundred  men,  fol¬ 
lowed  the  track  through  the  Ziban  and  the  oases 
which  fringe  the  southern  slopes  of  the  mountains. 
Koceila  seized  the  opportunity,  made  his  escape, 
and  raised  the  country — the  Greek  inhabitants  of 
the  towns  making,  for  the  first  time  in  history, 
common  cause  with  the  natives. 

With  such  forces  as  he  could  thus  hastily 
muster,  Koceila  dashed  south,  probably  through 
the  great  gorge  of  El  Kantara,  came  upon  his 
enemy  at  Tahouda  near  Biskra,  and  overwhelmed 
him  and  all  his  little  band.  Okba’s  end  was  a 
worthy  one.  It  is  said  that  when  he  found  him¬ 
self  faced  with  the  alternative  of  flight  or  death, 
he  struck  with  his  own  hands  the  fetters  oft  the 
limbs  of  El  Mohadjer,  and  bade  him  escape.  He 
refused,  and  the  two  rivals,  drawing  their  scimi¬ 
tars  and  breaking  the  scabbards,  fell  side  by  side. 
This  was  in  the  year  a.d.  672.  A  typical  Moslem 
apostle  and  saint,  he  still  lies  near  the  spot  where 
he  fell,  in  the  mosque  of  the  little  town  which  bears 
his  name,  and  which  his  holiness  has  made  ever 
since  a  place  of  pilgrimage  only  less  important 
than  Kairouan  itself.  His  epitaph  can  still  be 
read.  It  is  written  in  early  Kufic  characters,  and 
is  probably  the  oldest  Arabic  inscription  in  the 
world.  4  4  This  is  the  tomb  of  Okba,  son  of  Nafi — 
may  God  have  mercy  on  him.” 


236  Studies  in  North  Africa 

His  death  marks  the  recovery  of  Berber  inde¬ 
pendence.  Koceila  made  himself  master  of  the 
whole  country,  and  again  destroyed  Kairouan. 

In  a.d.  698  Kairouan  was  rebuilt  by  the  Gover¬ 
nor  of  Egypt.  However,  he  was  driven  back  and 
killed,  and  Ifrikya  was  once  more  clear  of  the 
Arabs. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  a.d.  720  (a.h.  98),  that 
“the  Lord  strengthened  the  hands  of  Hassan,  Gov¬ 
ernor  of  Egypt, ”  to  finally  subdue  the  country. 
For  the  fourth  time  Kairouan  was  rebuilt,  and 
Hassan  marched  against  Carthage.  By  a  dashing 
attack,  the  walls  were  scaled,  and  the  city  taken 
and  sacked;  on  the  approach,  however,  of  the  By¬ 
zantine  fleet,  under  the  command  of  John  the 
Patrician,  the  Arabs  evacuated  the  city  and  re¬ 
turned  to  Kairouan,  where  they  wintered.  Next 
year  they  received  strong  reinforcements  and  ad¬ 
vanced  again.  This  time  John  found  himself  over¬ 
matched.  He  withdrew  to  Utica,  whence,  after 
sustaining  a  severe  defeat,  he  reembarked  for  Con¬ 
stantinople.  This  time  Hassan  made  sure  of  his 
prey,  and  for  a  second  time  Carthage  was  levelled 
to  the  ground.  Tunis  was  built  with  its  stones  and 
adorned  with  its  marble  pillars.  Whatever  was 
left  above  ground  was  carried  away  in  after 
years;  it  is  said  that  the  Cathedral  at  Pisa  was 
built  with  some  of  the  stones.  The  great  harbours 
were  filled  up  and  completely  obliterated;  until 
a  few  years  ago  their  very  position  was  a  matter 
of  guess-work  and  tradition.  So  ended  European 
rule  in  North  Africa. 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  237 

But  the  real  work  had  still  to  be  done.  Koceila, 
the  Berber  Caractacus,  had  fallen  in  battle  on 
the  Medjerba,  but  an  African  Boadicea  arose  to 
take  his  place.  The  name  of  this  famous  heroine 
is  unknown ;  she  is  always  described  by  her  titles, 
Dahiah  or  Queen,  and  Kahenah  or  Priestess.*  The 
chronicler,  Ibn  Khaldoun,  tells  us  that  she  be¬ 
longed  to  the  Jewish  tribe  of  Djoraouah,  but  she 
was  certainly  a  Berber,  though  probably  her  tribe 
had  been  converted  to  Judaism.  She  was  an  ex¬ 
ample  of  what  would  now  be  termed  a  Marabouta ; 
half  prophet  like  Deborah,  half  sorceress,  she 
wielded  a  power  wThich  was  all  the  stronger  be¬ 
cause  its  foundations  were  mysterious  and  rested 
on  the  supernatural. 

In  a  battle  fought  at  the  foot  of  the  Aures, 
Hassan  was  completely  routed  and  driven  back 
upon  Gabes.  Eighty  of  his  bodyguard  were  taken 
prisoners;  with  one  exception  the  Kahenah  sent 
them  back  without  ransom.  The  name  of  the  ex¬ 
ception  was  “Khaled,  son  of  lezid,  of  the  tribe  of 
Cais,  and  he  was  young  and  beautiful.  ‘X  have 
never  seen/  said  she  to  him,  4  so  goodly  a  youth 
as  you.  I  wish  to  give  you  suck,  that  you  may  be¬ 
come  the  son  of  the  Kahenah,  and  the  brother  of 
her  children.’  And  this  ceremony,  which  amongst 
the  Berbers  constitutes  adoption,  took  place.” 

Convinced  that  the  Arabs  were  fighting  only  for 
booty,  she  then  laid  desolate  the  whole  country 
between  Sfax  and  El  Djem,  where  she  fortified 

*  She  is  described  as  daughter  of  Tabeta,  son  of  Enfale.  She 
was  Queen  of  the  Djoraouah,  a  Zenete  tribe  of  the  Aures. 


238  Studies  in  North  Africa 

herself  in  the  vast  amphitheatre,  razed  the  cities, 
destroyed  the  cisterns  and  barrages,  and  burnt 
the  forests  and  groves  of  olives.  At  last,  a.d.  703, 
after  five  years  of  desolating  warfare,  she  real¬ 
ised  that  further  resistance  was  impossible.  De¬ 
termined  herself  to  die  a  queen,  she  had  prepared 
her  sons  for  submission,  and  sent  them  with 
Khaled  into  the  camp  of  Hassan,  before  the  final 
battle.  Next  day  she  was  defeated  and  killed,  and 
her  head  was  sent  to  the  Khalifah,  Abd-el-Melek.# 
“Thus  the  freedom  of  Barbary  descended  into  its 
grave,  not  to  rise  again  on  the  third  morning,  or 
the  third  week,  or  the  third  year.”  Whether  this 
prediction  was  fulfilled  remains  to  be  seen. 

Her  sons  passed  into  the  service  of  Hassan,  and 
when,  following  in  the  steps  of  Tarif,  who  has 
given  Gibraltar  its  name,  Mousa  ibn  Noceir  passed 
over  into  Spain,  they  marched  under  his  banner, 
at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand  Berbers,  and 
helped  to  found  the  Omeiade  kingdoms  of  Seville 
and  Granada.  Thus,  at  the  expense  of  Spain,  an 
interval  of  comparative  peace  was  secured  for 
Africa. 

The  rule  of  the  four  Perfect  Khalifah s  had  been 
unostentatious  and  cheap;  that  of  the  Omeiades 
was  brilliant  and  costly,  and  had  to  be  paid  for. 
Imperial  taxes  began  once  more  to  weigh  heavily 
on  Africa,  and  in  a.d.  720,  Yezed,  the  governor, 
enforced  upon  the  Moslem  taxes  which,  like  the 

*  The  battle  in  which  the  Kahenah  was  killed,  was  fought  near 
Mitoussa,  between  Lambessa  and  Tebessa.  The  enemy  were 
guided  and  commanded  by  Khaled.  According  to  another  account, 
her  head  was  thrown  into  a  well. 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  239 

Kharadj,  or  poll  tax,  were  due  from  infidels  only. 
In  the  midst  of  the  discontent  which  this  caused, 
came  the  Kharedjite  missionaries,  and  were  re¬ 
ceived  with  enthusiasm.  It  was  sufficient  that,  as 
their  name  implied,  they  were  dissenters,  and  that, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Berbers,  the  rejection  of  the 
orthodoxy  of  the  rulers  at  Kairouan,  was  a  suf¬ 
ficient  excuse  for  rebellion  against  their  authority. 
In  addition  to  this,  their  doctrines  were  as  accept¬ 
able  as  their  schism,  for  they  united  the  harsh 
morality  of  Tertullian  with  the  separatism  of  the 
Donatists  and  the  wild  extravagances  of  the  Cir- 
cumcelliones.  Revolt  began,  and  soon  spread  over 
the  whole  country.  In  a.d.  740  it  required  the 
whole  army  of  Egypt,  and  a  massacre,  in  which  it 
is  said  that  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  Ber¬ 
bers  fell,  to  reduce  the  east  to  something  like  sub¬ 
mission;  in  the  west,  the  two  principal  sects  of 
Kharedjites  succeeded  in  founding  independent 
states,  the  Ibadites  at  Tiaret,  in  the  Central  Magh¬ 
reb  “el  Aougot,”  and  the  Sof rites  at  Sidgilmassa 
(Tafilah),  in  the  south  of  the  Western  Maghreb 
el  Acsa.  ’ 

At  last,  his  patience  exhausted  by  these  contin¬ 
ual  excursions  and  alarms,  the  Khalifah  of 
Baghdad,!  Haroun-al-Raschid,  gave  the  whole  of 
the  Maghreb  as  a  fief  to  a  chief  of  Ifrikya,  Ibrahim 
ibn  Aghled.  Thus  was  founded  the  practically  in- 

*“ Maghreb”  means  “west.”  Roughly  speaking,  the  Magh¬ 
reb  “el  Acsa”  corresponds  with  Morocco,  the  Maghreb  “el 
Aougot”  with  Algeria,  and  “Ifrikya”  with  Tunisia. 

t  Baghdad  was  founded  by  the  Khalifah  Abd  er  Rahman,  and 
made  his  capital  a.d.  754  (a.h.  136). 


240  Studies  in  North  Africa 

dependent  dynasty  of  the  Aghlebites  at  Kairouan, 
which  was  able  to  maintain  itself  for  a  hundred 
years  (a.d.  800-908),  sometimes  with  splendour, 
always  with  success.  Charlemagne  sent  ambas¬ 
sadors  to  Ibrahim,  and  they  were  received  at 
Kairouan  with  great  magnificence,  and  to  his  suc¬ 
cessors  the  city  owes  its  finest  buildings ;  they  kept 
a  standing  army  and  fleet,  with  which  they  not 
only  kept  the  peace  in  Ifrikya,  but  wTere  able  also 
to  conquer  Sicily.  In  their  home  policy  they  made 
a  serious  attempt  to  secure  justice  for  the  poor, 
and  to  save  them  from  oppression,  by  appointing 
in  every  town  an  officer  whose  special  duty  was  to 
protect  the  common  people  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  great. 

In  the  Western  Maghreb  they  were  powerless 
either  to  subdue  the  two  Kharedjite  kingdoms  or 
to  prevent  the  foundations  of  another  at  Fez  by  the 
Edrissites,  a  sect  of  4 ‘ legitimists,’ ’  who  recognised 
as  Khalifahs  only  the  direct  descendants  of  the 
Prophet  through  Edrei,  the  only  son  of  Ali  and 
Fatimah,  so  they  pretended,  who  escaped  the 
massacre  which,  in  the  ordinary  course,  followed 
the  murder  of  Ali  himself. 

To  make  confusion  worse  confounded,  there  ap¬ 
peared  towards  the  close  of  the  ninth  century, 
another  disturbing  element.  The  Slii’ahs  raised 
the  banner  of  a  new  Mahdi,  Obeid  Allah,  and  his 
lieutenant,  Abou  Abd  Allah,  succeeded  without 
much  difficulty  in  converting,  or  at  least  raising, 
the  whole  of  the  powerful  Ketana  tribe,  which 
occupied  the  country  between  the  Aures  and  the 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  241 

sea.  They  were  soon  joined  by  the  Zouaoua  of 
the  Djurdjura  mountains,  and  the  Sanhadja 
from  Southern  Tunisia.  In  a.d.  908,  Abou  Abd 
Allah,  at  the  head  of  a  hundred  thousand  men, 
marched  upon  Kairouan  and  defeated  and  put  to 
flight  Ziadet  Allah,  the  last  of  the  Aghlebites. 
Once  seated  on  the  throne  which  Abou  Abd  Allah 
had  won  for  him,  Obeid  Allah  soon  changed  the 
part  of  an  apostle  for  that  of  a  despot.  He  in¬ 
augurated  his  reign  by  murdering  Abou  Abd 
Allah,  and  then,  finding  the  atmosphere  of  Kair¬ 
ouan  too  orthodox,  built  himself  a  new  capital  at 
Mehdia,  on  the  site  of  an  old  Koman  town  whose 
name  is  uncertain;  in  Froissart  it  appears  as 
Africa.  His  followers  were  known  as  Fatemites, 
to  emphasise  the  supposed  descent  from  Fatimah, 
and  thus  was  founded  a  dynasty  which  lasted  from 
a.d.  909  to  1171. 

Turning  his  arms  west  he  overthrew  the  two 
Kharedjite  kingdoms  at  Sidjilmassa  and  Tiaret, 
and  received  the  submission  to  his  suzerainty  of 
the  Edrissites  of  Fez.  Then  he  died,  leaving  an 
empire  which  spread  from  the  Syrtes  to  the  very 
heart  of  the  Maghreb  el  Acsa,  or  Morocco. 

The  third  and  last  of  the  Fatemites  of  Africa 
proper  was  Abou  Temin  Maad  el  Mangour.  Under 
the  name  of  El  Moezz  ed-din  Allah,  “He  who  ex¬ 
alts  the  religion  of  God,”  he  conquered  Egypt, 
and,  deserting  Africa,  established  his  capital 
at  the  new  city  El  Kahira,  the  Victorious  (Cairo), 
which  he  had  founded,  and  where  the  Khotbah,  or 
solemn  state  prayer  offered  on  Friday  for  the 


242  Studies  in  North  Africa 

Commander  of  the  Faithful,  was  said  in  the 
mosques  in  his  name,  a.d.  969. 

But  the  ascendancy  of  the  Katama  tribe  had  not 
remained  unchallenged.  The  tribe  of  the  Zenetes, 
who  occupied  the  whole  desert  fringe  of  North 
Africa,  from  Tripoli  to  the  meridian  of  Algiers, 
had  remained  faithful  to  the  old  Kharedjite 
heresy.  Under  the  leadership  of  a  Sofrite,  Abou 
Yezed,  known  as  the  Man  with  the  Ass,  they  over¬ 
ran  Ifrikya,  sacked  Kairouan,  and  laid  siege  to 
Mehdia ;  it  was  by  his  victory  over  them  that  Abou 
Temin  Maad  won  his  title  of  “  El  Mangour,  ”  “  The 
Victorious.”  Foiled  in  the  east,  they  turned  their 
arms  toward  the  west,  and  one  of  their  chieftains, 
Ziri  ibn  Atia,  made  himself  master  of  Fez  and 

Sidjilmassa,  and  established  a  kingdom  there. 

•  * 

The  rest  of  North  Africa  remained  faithful  to  the 
Shi’ahs.  It  was  divided  into  two  kingdoms,  one 
of  the  East,  the  other  of  Central  Africa,  with  its 
capital  at  Bone — all  purely  Berber. 

At  the  close  of  the  tenth  century  El  Mangour 
gave  the  command  of  the  west  to  his  brother  Ham- 
mad,  who  founded  an  important  city,  El  Kalaa, 
the  Citadel,  in  the  Hodna.  It  became  very  pros¬ 
perous  in  the  eleventh  century,  and  perished  in  the 
twelfth;  its  ruins,  indistinct,  but  covering  a  vast 
space  of  ground  on  the  south  flank  of  the  Djebel 
Tagarboust,*  testify  to  its  former  grandeur. 

On  the  death  of  El  Mangour,  Hammad  repu¬ 
diated  the  authority  of  the  Fatemites,  came  to 
terms  with  the  Abbaside  Khalifahs  of  the  east, 

*  Between  Bordj  bou  Areridj  and  the  Chott-el-Hodna. 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  243 

and  founded  a  kingdom  of  the  north,  which  ex¬ 
tended  from  Tunis  to  Algiers.  After  his  death 
the  two  families  made  peace  and  reigned  each  in 
his  respective  capital. 

Thus  ended  the  tenth  century. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century  it 
would  seem  that  the  Arab  invasion  had  been  rolled 
back,  and  had  left  comparatively  few  traces  be¬ 
hind  it.  In  place  of  a  vague  monotheistic  Chris¬ 
tianity  the  natives  professed  a  vague  monotheistic 
Islamism.  Practically  they  went  their  own  way, 
accepting  whatever  appealed  to  them,  so  long  as 
it  was  not  the  hated  orthodoxy  of  the  Omeiades. 
The  whole  country  was  for  the  first  time  since  the 
Romans  came,  perhaps  ever  since  Carthage  was 
founded,  essentially  Berber,  with  all  the  blessings 
and  disadvantages  of  Home  Rule.  We  have  now 
to  see  how  the  Berbers  used  the  freedom  they  had 
won ;  to  tell  of  the  new  flood  of  Arabs  which  over¬ 
flowed  the  land,  not  as  conquerors,  but  as  settlers ; 
to  trace  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  great  Berber  king¬ 
doms  of  the  Middle  Ages,  wearing  themselves  and 
one  another  out  with  ceaseless  wars,  until  the 
Turks  came  and  destroyed  them  all.  The  whole 
skein  is  tangled  and  confused,  and  it  is  difficult 
indeed  to  be  coherent  and  intelligible  without  be¬ 
ing  either  diffuse  or  incomplete. 

The  course  of  history  now  takes  us  far  to  the 
east.  In  the  Hedjaz,  a  desert  tract  of  Arabia, 
dwelt  two  wild  marauding  nomad  tribes,  known  as 
the  Beni  Hillal  and  the  Beni  Soleim,  who  lived  by 
pillaging  the  neighbouring  districts  of  Mecca  and 


244  Studies  in  North  Africa 

Medina.  Unable  to  reduce  them  to  order,  tin 
Khalifab  of  Baghdad  expelled  them  altogether 
and  drove  them  bodily  into  Egypt.  Experiencing 
the  same  difficulties,  the  Fatemite  Khalifah  o 
Cairo  drove  them  into  npper  Egypt. 

Then  came  the  final  rupture  with  Africa  and  E 
Moezz  ibn  Badis,  who  ruled  in  Kairouan.  Exas 
perated  at  an  outrage,  which  he  was  unable  him 
self  to  punish  the  Vizier  of  the  Khalifah,  El  Mos 
tancer,  sent  for  the  chiefs  of  the  Beni  Hillal,  an< 
said :  “  I  make  you  a  present  of  the  Maghreb,  th 
kingdom  of  El  Moezz  ibn  Badis  the  Sanhadjite,  , 
slave  who  had  rejected  the  authority  of  his  rnastei 
For  the  future  you  will  want  for  nothing.’ ’  Th 
Arabs  started  west,  a  mixed  multitude  of  mer 
women,  and  children;  nomad  brigands  gatherei 
round  them  as  they  went ;  at  last  a  mob,  two  hur 
dred  thousand  strong,  of  whom  forty-five  thor 
sand  were  warriors,  poured  into  Africa.  The 
advanced  like  a  swarm  of  locusts;  “the  land  wa 
as  the  Garden  of  Eden  before  them,  and  behin 
them  a  desolate  wilderness.”  At  Gabes,  El  Moez 
met  them,  and  tried  in  vain  to  bar  the  wa1' 
Sweeping  him  before  them  the  invaders  presse 
on.  Kairouan  was  taken  and  sacked,  and  the 
poured  into  Maghreb.  They  were  not  conqueror; 
be  it  remembered,  but  a  swarm  of  miserabl 
hungry  creatures  who  had  been  driven  from  on 
desert  to  another  ;  they  took  what  they  could  g( 
and  squatted  where  they  could.  Leaving  tb 
mountainous  districts  untouched,  they  mixed  wit 
and  degraded  the  prosperous  dwellers  on  tb 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  245 

plains,  devastating  the  lands  and  destroying  the 
cities  wherever  they  went ;  and  thns  Africa,  which 
Roman  skill  and  perseverance  had  made  one  of 
the  great  granaries  of  the  world,  went  once  more 
out  of  tillage,  and  fell  back  into  prairie  and  desert. 
For  the  first  time  North  Africa  could  with  some 
truth  be  called  Arab,  a  “Garden  of  Allah” — that 
is,  a  desert. 

From  the  north  came  a  new  trouble  for  the  dis¬ 
tracted  Berbers.  In  the  year  a.d.  1101  died  Roger 
d’Hauteville,  the  Norman  King  of  Sicily,  brother 
of  Robert  Guiscard.  In  a.d.  1143  his  son,  Roger 
II.,  descended  upon  Djidjelli  and  destroyed  it.  In 
a.d.  1146  he  seized  Tripoli.  It  was  a  time  of  ter¬ 
rible  distress  and  famine  in  East  Africa — the 
legacy  of  the  Arabs.  “Many  left  the  country  to 
take  refuge  in  Sicily ;  a  multitude  of  unfortunates 
died  of  famine;  others  were  driven  to  eat  human 
flesh.’ *  The  opportunity  was  not  to  be  lost.  Roger 
sailed  for  Mehdia,  which  the  Khalifah  evacuated, 
retiring  to  Bougie;  Sousse  was  taken  without  re¬ 
sistance,  Sfax  was  carried  by  assault,  and  “soon 
the  infidels  were  masters  of  all  the  country  from 
Tripoli  to  Tunis,  and  from  the  sea  to  Kairouan.” 

We  have  travelled  from  east  to  north,  from  the 
Hallal  of  Arabia  to  the  Normans  of  France.  Now 
we  have  to  travel  south.  At  the  sources  of  the 
Niger,  or  as  they  thought,  of  the  Nile,  dwelt  cer¬ 
tain  tribes  of  the  “Sanhadja  of  the  Veil”* 
(Likam),  who  have  given  their  name  to  Senegal. 

*  For  some  interesting  details  concerning  the  Veiled  Touaregs, 
vide  Across  the  Sahara,  by  Hanns  Vischer,  p.  166. 


246  Studies  m  North  Africa 

Moslems  only  in  name,  they  had  been  converted  to 
Sunnite  orthodoxy  by  one  of  their  chiefs,  who  had 
himself  been  instructed  by  a  learned  doctor  at 
Kairouan.  Spreading  their  new  faith  with  and 
by  their  arms,  they  started  for  the  north.  They 
preached  an  austere  doctrine,  destroying  as  they 
went  all  instruments  of  music,  and  everything 
which  could  distract  a  Moslem  from  the  thought 
of  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  Pressing  on,  they 
seized  Tablet  and  its  capital  Sidjilmassa.  Then 
they  attacked  the  Zenetes,  then  the  Masmouda  of 
the  Upper  Atlas  (Deren).  Descending  the  moun¬ 
tains,  they  fell  upon  the  Zenetes  of  the  Tell ;  lastly, 
they  met  the  Borghouata  of  the  western  littoral, 
heretics  who  had  a  Koran  #  of  their  own,  written 
in  the  Berber  tongue.  These  they  destroyed,  and 
they  vanish  from  history,  a.d.  1059. 

Under  the  command  of  Youssof  ibn  Tachefin, 
the  Almoravides  (El  Morabethin,  the  Marabouts) 
pushed  north,  seized  Fez,  and  massacred  the  in¬ 
habitants.  “In  the  mosques  alone  he  slew  three 
thousand  men,”  a.d.  1063.  Crossing  the  Straits, 
he  dethroned  the  Andalusian  Emirs,  and  made 
himself  master  of  all  Moslem  Spain,  a.d.  1090. 
After  dividing  the  Maghreb  el  Acsa  into  govern¬ 
ments  which  he  committed  to  his  chiefs,  Youssof, 
under  his  new  title  of  Prince  of  the  Faithful,  Emir 
el-Moumenim,  attacked  the  Hammadites  in  the 
Central  Maghreb.  About  the  year  a.d.  1120,  the 
Almoravides  reached  the  zenith  of  their  power, 
and  the  Abbassite  Khalifahs  recognised  them  as 

*  The  Karan  of  Calih  ’  ben  T  ’arif. 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  247 

Lords  of  Spain  and  of  the  Maghreb.  Then  came 
the  end,  for  few  of  these  kingdoms  outlived  their 
founder,  or,  at  any  rate,  maintained  much  practi¬ 
cal  coherence  and  strength  after  the  death  of  the 
man  whose  genius  and  enthusiasm  called  them 
into  being. 

Early  in  the  twelfth  century  a  new  sect  ap¬ 
peared  under  a  new  Mahdi.  Ibn  Toumert,  of  the 
tribe  of  the  Masmouda,  was  born  in  the  Atlas 
Mountains.  After  studying  at  Cordova,  a.d.  1105, 
he  travelled  to  the  east,  where  in  the  centre  of 
fanaticism  and  blind  exaltation,  he  was  trained 
to  be  the  warrior  apostle  of  the  Sofrites.  He  re¬ 
turned  on  foot  to  the  west.  At  Mehdia  he  was 
well  received,  at  Bougie  his  zeal  in  breaking  wine- 
jars  and  instruments  of  music  was  so  little  to  the 
liking  of  the  people  that  he  was  forced  to  fly  for 
his  life.  It  was  then  that  he  was  joined  by  a 
young  Berber,  Abd-el-Moumen,  who  became  his 
favourite  disciple,  and  in  time  his  successor — per¬ 
haps  the  greatest  man  the  Berber  race  has  ever 
produced.  Ibn  Toumert,  with  his  disciple,  made 
his  way  back  to  the  mountains  of  the  Masmouda. 
There  he  declared  himself  to  be  the  Mahdi,  the 
twelfth  Iman  predicted  by  Mohammed.  Estab¬ 
lishing  himself  in  the  mountains  of  Tini  Mellel 
(the  White  Wells),  in  the  south  of  Morocco,  he 
organised  his  forces  for  an  onslaught  on  the  Al- 
moravides  (a.d.  1112). 

His  methods,  as  related  by  Ibn  Khaldoun,  had 
all  the  simple  directness  of  genius.  During  a  time 
of  famine,  certain  of  his  followers  were  tempted 


248  Studies  in  North  Africa 

to  forsake  him  and  return  to  their  allegiance  to 
the  Almoravides.  Something  had  to  be  done  to 
stop  the  rot.  “God  Most  High,”  he  proclaimed, 
“has  given  me  a  light  by  which  I  may  separate 
the  men  predestined  to  paradise  from  the  lost  who 
are  doomed  to  hell ;  to  prove  this  he  has  sent  cer¬ 
tain  angels  into  the  wells,  who  shall  bear  witness 
to  my  truthfulness.”  So  all  the  people  shedding 
tears  of  penitence,  came  to  the  wells.  “Angels 
of  God,”  cried  the  Mahdi,  “is  this  man  speaking 
the  truth?”  Then  certain  men  whom  he  had  hid¬ 
den  in  the  wells  replied,  “Yes,  he  is  speaking 
truth.”  Then  said  Ibn  Toumert  to  the  people, 
“These  wells  are  holy,  for  the  Angels  of  God 
have  dwelt  in  them.  Let  us  fill  them  up  quickly, 
lest  they  be  defiled.”  So  they  were  filled  up,  and 
the  Mahdi  was  relieved  from  any  fear  of  expo¬ 
sure.  Then  the  Inspired  of  God  placed  the  lost 
upon  his  left  hand ;  the  elect  upon  his  right  hand ; 
with  these  he  fell  upon  his  enemies,  and  cast  them 
down  a  precipice.  Thus  Ibn  Toumert  established 
his  power,  and  rid  himself  in  one  day  of  seven 
thousand  adversaries.  A  little  after  this  Ibn 
Toumert  died,  and  Abd-el-Moumen  reigned  in  his 
stead. 

No  agitator  has  ever  wanted  for  followers  in 
Africa.  The  conquests  of  Abd-el-Moumen  were 
rapid.  The  Western  Maghreb  “el  Acsa”  was 
subdued.  After  a  terrible  siege  of  eleven  months, 
during  which  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  per¬ 
ished,  the  capital  was  taken  and  the  inhabitants 
put  to  the  sword.  “We  may  presume  that  God 


Rassoul  Allah,  A.D.  622-1453  249 

permitted  this  because  Youssof  had  treated  the 
King  of  Seville  with  indignity  after  he  had  de¬ 
throned  him.  Such  are  the  changes  of  mortal  life. 
Out,  then,  on  the  world !  and  blessed  be  the  Lord, 
whose  kingdom  shall  never  pass  away.”  Thus 
was  founded  the  “Traditionist,”  or  Almohade 
kingdom  of  the  west. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  Moslems  of  the  east, 
Abd-el-Moumen  turned  his  arms  towards  Ifrikya. 
All  was  anarchy  there.  The  Hillal  Arabs  were 
supreme  in  the  Central  Maghreb,  and  the  Nor¬ 
mans  held  all  the  seaboard  of  Ifrikya.  In  March 
1169  El  Moumen  took  Bougie,  and  put  an  end  to 
the  dynasty  of  the  Hammadites.  On  July  14, 
Tunis  submitted,  and  the  bishopric  of  Carthage 
was  suppressed;  then  Mehdia  was  besieged  and 
taken,  the  Normans  were  expelled,  the  trouble¬ 
some  Arabs  were  drafted  into  the  army,  and  once 
more,  from  the  Syrtes  to  the  Atlantic,  Africa 
owned  a  single  sway.  An  amazing  conquest,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  yet  more  amazing  reform. 

Abd-el-Moumen  was  not  merely  a  tighter — he 
was  a  man  of  grand  ideas,  and  an  organiser  and 
administrator  of  the  first  rank.  He  founded  uni¬ 
versities  to  which  students  from  Europe  had  to 
come  to  learn  the  sciences ;  the  whole  country  was 
surveyed  for  fiscal  purposes  and  divided  into 
square  miles ;  one-third  of  the  whole  surface 
ranked  as  mountain  land ;  on  this  basis  each  tribe 
was  taxed,  and  was  required  to  pay  in  silver;  a 
tax  on  property  replaced  the  old  taxes  on  com¬ 
modities;  he  struck  coins  with  the  words  ''Allah 


250  Studies  in  North  Africa 

is  our  God,”  “ Mohammed  is  our  Prophet,”  “The 
Mahdi  is  our  Iman.”  He  maintained  a  fleet  and 
an  army ;  and  the  country  was  so  well  policed  that 
caravans  could  move  throughout  it  without  fear. 
Never  had  Africa  enjoyed  such  discipline  and 
such  security.  At  last  he  died,  in  a.d.  1163,  full 
of  years  and  honour. 

It  was  not  in  the  nature  of  things  that  a  condi¬ 
tion  of  such  peace  and  prosperity  should  last  long 
in  Africa.  Tunis,  which  had  been  created  a  capi¬ 
tal  city  by  Abd-el-Moumen,  under  the  charge  of 
Abou  Mohammed,  son  of  Abou  Hafs,  declared 
itself  independent,  under  the  Hafside  dynasty. 
In  the  west,  Tlemcen  rose  to  a  position  of  im¬ 
mense  prosperity  and  magnificence  under  the 
power  of  the  Beni  Zian  Zenata,  while  the  Beni 
Nerin  Zenata,  hitherto  nomads,  took  possession 
of  Fez.  On  the  death  of  the  last  Almohade  in  bat¬ 
tle  in  a.d.  1269,  a  bitter  and  obstinate  war  broke 
out  between  these  two  which  fatally  weakened  the 
Berber  rule,  while  the  baleful  influence  of  the 
Arabs  was  always  present  as  a  disturbing  influ¬ 
ence  to  hinder  the  Berbers  of  all  Maghreb  from 
advancing  or  developing  normally. 

Three  dynasties  emerged  out  of  all  this  confu¬ 
sion — the  Hafside  at  Tunis,  the  Ouabite  at  Tlem¬ 
cen,  and  the  Merinide  at  Fez;  but  decay,  rapid 
and  certain,  set  in,  which  destroyed  both  civilisa¬ 
tion  and  power.  By  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  the  Merinide  kingdom  was  broken  up,  Tunis 
was  divided,  Fez  had  neither  influence  nor 
strength.  Portugal  held  Tangiers  and  Cintra; 


Rassoul  Allah,  a.d.  622-1453  251 

Spain  seized  Oran,  Bongie,  and  Tripoli,  and  forti¬ 
fied  tlie  island  of  Penon,  off  Algiers.  The  little 
helpless  states  recognised  the  suzerainty  of  the 
kings  of  Castile,  paid  tribute,  and  received  garri¬ 
sons.  The  Berber  kingdoms  and  dynasties  had 
died  down  to  the  roots.  Anarchy,  complete  and 
hopeless,  reigned  everywhere.  Once  more  the 
country  waited  only,  and  not  in  vain,  for  some 
invader  from  without  to  come  and  seize  it. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AN  AFRICAN  MECCA 
Kairouan 

What  Cirta  was  to  the  Natives;  what  Carthage 
was  to  the  Foreigners,  whether  Punic  or  Roman; 
what  Algiers  was  destined  to  be  to  the  Turks, 
that,  and  more,  Kairouan  has  been  to  the  Arabs. 
Cirta  was  a  strong  natural  fortress,  besieged 
eighty  times  and  taken  only  twice ;  Carthage  was 
a  seaport;  Kairouan  was  neither.  It  is  indeed 
difficult  to  find  any  adequate  reason  for  the  se¬ 
lection  of  the  place  as  the  site  of  a  great  capital 
city.  Very  different  and  contradictory  explan¬ 
ations  have  been  given  by  various  writers.  One 
says  that,  being  near  the  mountains  and  near  the 
sea,  so  as  to  be  in  touch  with  both,  yet  safe  from 
either,  it  was  both  strategically  and  commercially 
of  vast  importance.  In  reply  it  may  be  pointed 
out  that  it  never  stood  a  siege  successfully,  and 
that  this  alone  is  sufficient  to  condemn  it  com¬ 
mercially  also.  Another  tells  us  that,  being  the 
most  unattractive  spot  he  could  find,  with  no 
natural  resources,  and  little  or  no  water,  Okba 
chose  it  as  an  act  of  faith  in  the  protecting  and 
providing  goodness  of  Allah. 

The  account  given  by  En  Noweiri  is  delightfully 
vague:  “Okba  had  been  entrusted  by  the  Kha- 
lifah  with  the  government  of  the  new  province  of 
Ifrikya.  From  Sousse  he  marched  out,  and  at  a 

252 


An  African  Mecca 


253 


distance  of  thirteen  miles  he  happed  upon  a  cita¬ 
del  held  by  the  Berbers;  they  refused  to  let  him 
pass,  so  he  took  it,  and  went  on  his  way,  until  he 
came  to  a  valley  filled  with  trees  and  scrub,  a 
habitation  of  wild  beasts  and  owls.  So  he  prayed 
to  God,  and  said  to  the  beasts,  ‘  Inhabitants  of 
this  valley,  begone,  and  may  God  have  mercy 
upon  you;  we  intend  to  abide  here.’  When  he 
had  thus  proclaimed  three  times,  the  serpents  and 
scorpions  and  other  unknown  beasts  began  to  de¬ 
part  before  the  very  eyes  of  the  spectators.  Thus 
was  Kairouan  founded.” 

The  valley  and  trees  have  vanished  with  the 
scorpions,  and  Kairouan  lies  on  a  dreary,  water¬ 
less  expanse,  on  the  road  to  nowhere.  Destroyed 
over  and  over  again,  its  sanctity  as  the  foundation 
of  Sidi  Okba,  the  darling  hero-martyr  of  the 
Arabs,  and  as  the  resting-place  of  Sidi  Sahab,* 
Friend  of  the  Prophet,  has  always  ensured  its 
restoration;  but  peace  and  safety  came  to  it  only 
with  loss  of  importance,  when  the  capital  was 
moved  to  Tunis. 

To  the  south  of  the  city  a  little  French  town 
has  sprung  up,  and  on  the  west  it  is  enclosed  by 
the  great  suburb  of  the  Zlass,f  which  is  almost  as 
large  as  the  town  itself.  But  the  Arab  town  has 
been  religiously  respected.  Within  the  circle  of 
its  battlemented  walls,  with  their  strong  towers 
and  gates  intact,  the  domes  and  minarets  of  its 

*  Probably  it  was  tbe  fact  that  Sidi  Sahab  had  been  buried 
there  which  made  Okba  select  it  as  the  site  of  his  caravan.  It  had 
a  Roman  predecessor,  Vicus  Augusti. 

t  A  tribe  of  nomads,  who  form  the  best  customers  of  Kairouan. 


254  Studies  in  North  Africa 

mosques  and  zaouias,  all  dominated  by  tbe  enor¬ 
mous  tower  of  the  Great  Mosque,  it  has  preserved, 
more  even  than  Tunis,  its  picturesque  character 
as  the  African  Mecca. 

Due  north  and  south  from  the  Bab-et-Tunis, 
near  the  Kasbah,  to  the  Bab  Djelladin  (Skinners), 
runs  the  principal  street,  now  called  the  Rue  Sau- 
sier,  lined  on  each  side  with  little  shops  and  stalls, 
and  bright  with  the  varied  colours  of  the  dresses 
of  the  natives  and  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of 
Africa;  to  the  right  of  the  street  lie  the  Souks, 
which  deserve  a  visit,  though  they  are  neither  so 
large  nor  so  interesting  as  those  of  Tunis. 

But  it  is  to  see  the  mosques  and  azouias  of 
Kairouan  that  people  come,  even  more  than  to 
see  Kairouan  itself.  So,  without  longer  preface, 
let  us  turn  to  these. 

The  Djama  Kebira,  or  Djama  Sidi  Okba,  occu¬ 
pies  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  city,  just  inside 
the  walls.  The  building  of  the  first  mosque  by 
Sidi  Okba  himself  was  accompanied,  as  was  only 
right,  by  great  and  notable  miracles.  The  stones 
took  their  appointed  places  of  their  own  accord, 
and  a  voice  from  heaven  determined  the  exact 
position  of  the  Kibba,  or  Mihrab,  the  niche  which, 
in  every  mosque,  shows  the  direction  of  Mecca, 
towards  which  prayer  must  be  offered. 

But  even  these  divine  interpositions  were  in¬ 
sufficient  to  preserve  the  mosque.  Twenty-five 
years  later  it  was  pulled  down,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Kibba,  by  Hassan  ibn  Noman,  who  brought 
from  Carthage,  and  perhaps  Sousse,  the  pillars 


An  African  Mecca 


255 


with  which  his  new  building  was  adorned.  Promi¬ 
nent  amongst  these  are  the  two  splendid  columns 
of  red  and  yellow  marble  which  stand  on  either 
side  of  the  Mihrab ;  it  is  said  that  they  came  from 
a  Christian  church,  and  that  the  Emperor  of  Con¬ 
stantinople  offered  to  buy  them  for  their  weight 
in  gold.  This  second  mosque  was  replaced  by  a 
larger  in  a.d.  624,  and  this  by  a  larger  still  in 
a.d.  772.  Finally,  in  a.d.  821,  Ziadet  Allah,  the 
second  prince  of  the  House  of  Aghleb,  razed  it  to 
the  ground,  including  the  Mihrab  of  Sidi  Okba, 
and  built  the  mosque  which  we  now  see. 

The  outer  court  is  impressive  from  its  great 
size,  but  is  not  architecturally  successful.  It  is 
surrounded  by  a  very  splendid  double  colonnade. 
The  arches  of  the  colonnade  are  pointed,  and 
show  hardly  any  trace  of  the  horse-shoe  form; 
they  rest  on  clustered  pillars  of  marble.  In  the 
court  are  four  handsome  bases  of  pillars,  hollowed 
out  for  the  ritual  ablutions  of  the  faithful;  the 
water  is  drawn  from  four  cisterns  under  the  edi¬ 
fice.  In  the  centre  is  a  sundial,  a  tall  stone 
crowned  with  a  vertical  stick  and  string,  each  of 
which  tells  the  hour  by  the  shadows  cast  on  two 
separate  dials.  It  is  mounted  high  up  on  steps 
and  is  enclosed  by  a  railing.  Here,  as  the  hour 
for  midday  prayer  approached,  an  old  white-robed 
attendant  of  the  mosque  was  standing  watching 
intently  for  the  shadow  to  reach  the  appointed 
spot.  From  the  top  of  the  square  tower  of 'the 
minaret  another  man  was  watching  him.  When 
the  creeping  shadows  reached  the  places  upon  the 


256  Studies  in  North  Africa 

dials,  he  raised  his  hand.  Immediately  a  white 
flag  floated  ont  from  the  minaret  and  the  musical 
droning  cry  of  the  muezzin  was  taken  up  from 
tower  to  tower  throughout  the  town. 

It  is  natural,  almost  inevitable,  to  compare  this, 
the  greatest  mosque  of  Africa,  with  that  of  Cor¬ 
dova,  built  only  a  few  years  before. 

Happily  the  Moslem  builders  were  seldom  led 
astray  by  that  fatal  megalomania  which  has  been 
the  curse,  architecturally  as  well  as  in  other  ways, 
of  pagan  and  papal  Rome.  Beautiful  as  the  horse¬ 
shoe  arch  is,  it  is  structurally  false,  and,  if  used 
on  a  scale  large  enough  to  be  impressive  from  its 
size,  it  weakens  and  destroys  the  general  effect 
by  revealing  its  own  untruthfulness.  To  produce 
the  effect  of  size,  the  architects  were  therefore 
driven  to  the  multiplication  table;  and,  if  we  are 
to  say  that  the  Cordova  building  is  grander  than 
that  at  Kairouan,  it  will  not  be  because  each  pil¬ 
lar  is  more  precious,  or  each  arch  more  lovely, 
but  because  in  the  one  case  the  pillars  number 
nearly  twelve  hundred,  and  in  the  other  hardly 
two. 

Of  course  the  Cordova  Mezquita  has  undergone 
disastrous  mutilations.  Its  size  has  been  doubled 
— that  fatal  multiplication — an  alien  and  inhar¬ 
monious  cathedral  has  been  dropped  into  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  it,  its  splendid  ceiling  of  wood  has  been 
largely  replaced  with  vulgar  whitewashed  vaults, 
its  windows  have  been  fitted  with  incredibly  bad 
glass,  the  delicate  curves  of  its  arches  have  been 
emphasised  and  outraged  by  being  cut  up  into 


An  African  Mecca 


257 


alternate  wedges  of  red  and  white  paint.  Such 
calamities  as  these  the  sister  mosque  of  Kairouan 
has  mercifully  been  spared.  Large  enough  to  he 
mysterious  without  being  bewildering,  with  little 
light  but  such  as  pours  in  when  its  vast  doors  are 
opened,  its  vistas  of  pillared  aisles  have  all  the 
solemnity  and  dignity  which  we  associate  with  the 
holders  of  the  creed. 

From  the  central  door,  a  nave,  loftier,  richer  in 
decoration  and  nobler  in  form  than  the  others, 
leads  to  a  Mihrab  as  beautiful  as  that  at  Tlemcen, 
and  hardly  suffering  by  comparison  with  that 
miracle  of  form  and  colour,  the  Mihrab  at  Cor¬ 
dova. 

The  story  goes  that,  in  a  fit  of  drunken  madness, 
Ibrahim-el-Aghlab  made  his  wives  offer  him  wor¬ 
ship  as  a  god.  Next  morning,  full  of  remorse,  he 
sent  for  the  Grand  Mufti,  confessed,  and  implored 
penance  and  absolution.  The  Mufti  replied  that, 
as  the  sin  had  been  against  God,  the  atonement 
must  be  made  to  God,  and  directed  that  some  mar¬ 
vellous  tiles,  brought  from  Baghdad  to  decorate 
his  palace,  and  some  carved  wood  destined  to 
make  instruments  of  music,  should  be  given  to 
the  adornment  of  the  House  of  God,  which  he  was 
then  building.  Ibrahim  obeyed,  and  the  metallic 
lustre  of  the  tiles  now  shines  out  of  the  gloom  on 
the  wails  of  the  Mihrab,  while  the  wood  carvings, 
quaintly  fitted  together,*  form  the  magnificent 
mimbar  or  pulpit. 

*  Every  panel  is  different,  and  every  one  deserves  separate  and 
detailed  description. 


258  Studies  in  North  Africa 

One  other  marvel  the  mosque  possesses;  it  is 
the  splendid  maksoura,  or  enclosure  for  women, 
surrounded  by  screens  of  exquisitely  carved  wood, 
which  Abou  Temmim  el  Moezz  ibn  Bades  erected 
to  the  right  of  the  mimbar.  It  remains  intact,  and 
luminous  with  the  coloured  light  which  pours 
through  its  stained  windows,  fitted  with  delicate 
tracery  of  perforated  marble;  it  helps  us  to  pic¬ 
ture  what  the  splendour  of  the  mosque  must  have 
been  in  the  days  of  its  glory. 

Such  an  architecture  as  we  have  described,  so 
little  susceptible  of  grandeur  of  treatment,  but  so 
beautiful  in  detail  of  form  and  colour,  lends  itself 
admirably  to  a  series  of  small  courts  or  rooms, 
tsuch  as  are  suitable  in  houses  or  in  the  midas,  or 
places  for  ablutions,  which  we  find  at  the  entrance 
of  mosques. 

A  very  perfect  example  of  such  a  building  is 
found  in  the  Zaouia  of  Sidi  Sahab,  commonly 
called  the  Mosque  of  the  Barber,  which  stands 
just  outside  Kairouan  near  the  great  basin  or 
tank  of  the  Aghlabites. 

Far  from  being  a  barber,  Abou-Zoumat  Obeid 
Allah  ibn  Adam  el  Beloui  was  a  mighty  man  of 
valour.  He  earned  his  title  of  Sidi  Sahab  (the 
Companion),  by  being  one  of  the  ten  earliest  dis¬ 
ciples  who  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Prophet 
under  the  lote  tree.  After  the  death  of  his  master, 
he  took  part  in  the  conquest  of  Egypt,  and  in  the 
expedition  led  into  Ifrikya  by  Moouia  ibn  Kou- 
diedj  in  the  year  a.d.  655  (a.h.  34).  Mortally 
wounded  in  the  attack  on  Sbeitla  in  the  following 


An  African  Mecca 


259 


year,  lie  died  and  was  buried  at  Kairouan.  At 
the  last  solemn  interview  when  Mohammed  bade 
farewell  to  his  Sahabs — his  Knights  of  the  Round 
Table — he  gave  El  Beloui  three  hairs  from  his 
beard,  that  by  them  he  might  be  recognised  at  the 
Day  of  Judgment.  El  Beloui  directed  that  the 
precious  relics  should  be  buried  with  him,  one 
being  laid  on  his  lips,  one  on  his  heart,  and  one 
under  his  right  arm,  in  token  that  his  eloquence, 
his  love,  and  his  might  had  all  been  given  to  the 
service  of  the  master  he  loved.  A  touching 
legend  which  deserved  to  bear  better  fruit  than 
simply  to  win  for  El  Beloui  the  title  of  Barber ! 

The  mosque,  which  is  the  loveliest  in  Kairouan, 
comprises  a  Medersa  or  college,  a  Zaouia  or  hos¬ 
tel,  as  well  as  the  Kouba  or  shrine  of  the  saint, 
and  place  of  pilgrimage.  It  is  in  just  such  a 
cluster  of  buildings  as  this,  as  in  the  Alhambra 
at  Granada,  that  Arab*  builders  are  at  their  best. 

The  principal  entrance  opens  on  a  large,  bare 
courtyard.  To  the  left,  hidden  by  a  lofty  wall,  lie 
the  collegiate  buildings  of  the  Zaouia  and  its 
mosque  in  front  is  the  entrance  to  the  shrine.  In 
the  angle  between  the  two  rises  the  fine  square 
minaret. 

Under  a  lofty  archway,  we  pass  into  a  vestibule 
of  great  beauty;  its  panelled  and  recessed  ceiling 
is  richly  painted  and  its  walls  glow  with  the 
colours  of  ancient  tiles.  Thence  a  door  opens  into 
the  atrium. 

*  Better,  perhaps,  “Berber”  or  “Moorish.”  It  is  very  doubt¬ 
ful  whether  the  Arabs  deserve  the  credit  of  any  of  the  great 
buildings  in  either  Spain  or  Africa. 


260  Studies  in  North  Africa 


This  is  small,  "being,  indeed,  little  more  than  a 
flight  of  half-a-dozen  steps,  with  tiled  risers,  and 
a  passageway  into  the  next  chamber.  It  is  open 
to  the  air,  but  on  each  side  is  an  arcade  of  slender 
pillars  bearing  horseshoe  arches,  and  forming  a 
little  cloister  with  carved  benches  for  the  weary 
pilgrims  to  rest  on.  The  walls  are  covered  with 
a  high  dado  of  exquisite  old  lustred  tiles;  above 
these  are  vases  of  flowers  alternating  with  these 
strange  spear-head  or  flame-like  ornaments  which 
every  Arab  uses,  but  none  can  explain.  The 
whole  is  tiny,  but  the  grace  of  the  pillars  and 
arches,  the  glowing  colours  of  the  rich  old  tiles, 
the  inlaid  marble  of  the  floor,  the  white  marble 
entrance  to  the  room  beyond,  all  seen  in  the  daz¬ 
zling  sunshine  which  pours  down  from  above 
through  the  open  roof,  make  this  little  passage 
one  of  the  most  lovely  things  in  North  Africa. 
The  sun,  indeed,  is  necessary,  for  the  builders 
loved  bright  lights  and  deep  shadows,  but  when 
half  the  walls  are  seen  in  a  living  blaze  of  light, 
and  the  rest  is  shrouded  in  the  coolness  of  the 
shadows,  the  eye,  half  dazzled,  half  rested,  is 
wholly  satisfied.  It  is  with  Arab  art  as  with  Arab 
dress.  It  is  the  glory  of  the  sunshine  on  which 
the  Arab  counts  and  which  enables  him  to  wear 
or  use  colours  and  contrasts  which  would  be 
garish,  if  not  impossible,  without  it. 

From  the  atrium  we  pass  into  a  square-domed 
chamber  in  which  no  colour  has  been  employed. 
The  white  walls  are  richly  covered  with  the  deeply 
incised  patterns  in  plaster  to  which  we  give  the 


An  African  Mecca 


261 


name  of  arabesques;  above  these  rise  a  series  of 
windows,  filled  with  coloured  glass,  framed  in  in¬ 
tricate  patterns  of  pierced  stucco.  Higher  still 
rises  the  white  dome,  divided  into  twenty-four 
segments,  each  of  which  contains  a  palm  leaf,  dif¬ 
ferently  treated.  Nothing  could  be  more  delight¬ 
ful  than  this  little  white  shadowy  room,  between 
the  glow  of  the  atrium  we  have  just  left,  and  the 
glare  of  the  central  court  of  the  mosque  which  we 
are  about  to  enter. 

Thus  we  reach  the  innermost  court  of  the  sanc¬ 
tuary.  Like  so  much  that  we  have  passed  already, 
it  is  richly  decorated  with  ancient  tiles,  on  which 
rests  a  frieze  of  beautiful  incised  plaster;  it  is 
surrounded  by  a  graceful  arcade  resting  on  slen¬ 
der  white  marble  columns,  and  it  is  paved 
with  white  marble.  On  three  sides  the  arcade 
has  a  flat,  timbered  ceiling.  On  the  fourth  a  sec¬ 
ond  storey,  resting  on  the  arcade,  affords  space 
on  the  outside  for  more  tiles,  set  in  square  con¬ 
ventional  patterns,  like  windows,  and  also  enables 
the  ceiling  to  be  carried  higher,  and  elaborated 
with  rich  recessed  coffers  and  little  domes.  For 
now  we  come  to  the  centre  of  all  this  loveliness, 
the  Kouba  of  the  saint  himself.  At  the  far  end 
of  the  arcade,  a  handsome  door  between  two  win¬ 
dows  of  white  and  coloured  marbles — all  of  elabo¬ 
rate  Italian  rococo  work,  incongruous  yet  not 
inharmonious — opens  into  the  shrine. 

A  story  attaches  to  these  Italian  carvings.  In 
the  eighteenth  century  a  rich  merchant  of  Kai- 
rouan  had  an  Italian  doctor  amongst  his  slaves! 


262  Studies  in.  North  Africa 


Nursed  through  a  severe  illness,  and  his  life  prac¬ 
tically  saved  by  his  skill  and  care,  the  master  set 
the  slave  free,  and  sent  him  home  a  rich  man.  Not 
to  be  outdone  in  generosity,  the  doctor  sent  these 
carvings  to  his  former  master  for  use  in  this 
mosque  and  Zaouia,  of  which  he  was  the  admin¬ 
istrator. 

The  shrine  is  of  the  usual  type,  a  square,  domed 
room  with  stalactite  roof.  Its  tiles  and  the  col¬ 
oured  designs  on  the  walls  are  rich  but  modern, 
and,  at  present,  somewhat  staring.  In  the  centre 
is  the  tomb  or  catafalque,  covered  with  rich  tapes¬ 
tries  and  surrounded  by  a  wooden  grille  on  which 
are  hung  glass  balls,  decorated  ostrich  eggs, 
lamps,  and  little  bags  of  holy  earth  brought  by 
the  faithful  from  Mecca ;  above  it  are  draped  flags 
and  banners  presented  by  various  benefactors; 
one  of  the  richest  was  given  by  Mustapha  ibn 
Ismael,  Prime  Minister  of  the  Bey  es  Sadok,  in 
hopes  of  ensuring  the  defeat  of  the  French  by  the 
intervention  of  the  saint. 

Before  leaving  we  pause  a  minute  or  two  to 
drink  in  all  the  quiet  beauty  of  this  dream  of 
peaceful  loveliness.  The  mosque  is  deserted,  and 
hitherto  we  have  been  left  to  wander  as  we 
pleased;  now  an  old  caretaker  comes  up  and 
speaks;  he  is  afraid  we  have  not  noticed  suffi¬ 
ciently  the  magnificence  of  the  carpets,  all  made 
in  Kairouan,  with  which  the  floor  of  the  Kouba  is 
covered.  An  aged  widow — only  widows  are  al¬ 
lowed  in  mosques  or  expected  to  pray — has  been 


An  African  Mecca 


263 


telling  lier  beads  in  the  shrine ;  now  she  leaves  it 
and  visits  the  other  subordinate  shrines,  saying 
prayers  in  each.  She  and  the  caretaker  are  evi¬ 
dently  friends,  and  exchange  a  kindly  greeting  as 
they  pass.  And  so  we  leave  this  home — as  we 
saw  it — of  ancient  peace,  and  go  out  into  the  glare 
and  dust  of  the  road  to  Kairouan. 

A  few  words  must  suffice  for  the  other  buildings 
of  Kairouan.  The  Djama  Zitouna  (Mosque  of  the 
Olive  Tree)  is  interesting  in  that  it  was  founded 
by  Kouifa  ibn  Tsabit,  one  of  the  Ansars  or 
Friends  who  welcomed  the  Prophet  at  Medina 
after  his  flight  from  Mecca,  the  Hejira.  This  and 
the  dedication  of  the  mosque  of  Sidi  Sahab  would 
seem  to  show  that  the  site  was  sacred  before  Okba 
founded  his  Caravan  here.  The  Djama  Sidi  bou 
Djafour  is  called  the  Djama  Tleta  Biban  from  its 
three  handsome  doors,  very  Byzantine  in  charac¬ 
ter.  They  are  set  in  a  curious  facade  enriched 
with  long  Cufic  inscriptions,  in  four  retreating 
lines,  surmounted  by  a  bold  cornice.  Many  of 
the  Zaouias  are  beautiful,  notably  that  of  Sidi 
Abid  el  Gahriani.  The  vast  basin  of  the  Aghla- 
bites  helps  to  recall  the  perished,  glories  of  the 
city. 

Very  imposing,  too,  is  the  vast  Mosque  and 
Zaouia  of  Si  Amor  Abbada ;  its  group  of  five  great 
domes  shows  the  influence  of  Turkish  over  Arab 
art.  The  little  mosque  and  marabout  of  the  saint 
are  bare  and  undecorated;  all  round  them  stand 
huge  decaying  panels  of  wood,  carved  with  the 


✓ 


264  Studies  in  North  Africa 

•sayings  and  prophecies  of  the  marabout.  It  is 
said  that  one  of  them  foretold  the  coming  of  the 
French. 

Amor  Abbada  was  a  blacksmith,  and  could 
neither  read  nor  write.  After  he  became  a  mara¬ 
bout  he  practised  his  art  only  in  making  huge, 
clumsy  sabres  in  wooden  scabbards;  from  these 
the  mosque  takes  its  name.  One  of  these  is  shown 
in  the  mosque,  also  a  huge  wooden  pipe  five  feet 
long,  which,  we  are  assured,  the  saint  was  wont  to 
use.  If  we  ask  how  that  could  be,  we  are  told 
that  he  was  a  giant.  He  obtained  complete  as¬ 
cendency  over  the  Bey  Ahmed  Pacha,  who  pre¬ 
sented  him  with  a  duplicate  of  the  pipe  in  silver; 
this  unaccountably  vanished  at  the  death  of  the 
saint.  Amor  Abbada  himself  collected  the  money 
to  erect  the  huge  pile,  in  the  course  of  three  years. 

All  this  is  interesting,  as  illustrating  the  power 
and  influence  of  the  marabouts,  and  the  rapidity 
with  which  legend  gathers  round  them;  for  Amor 
Abbada  died  in  1856. 

At  last,  tired  head,  eyes  and  feet,  we  left  the 
town  by  the  western  gate,  Bab-el-Bjedid,  to  watch 
the  solemn  pageant  of  the  sunset.  Passing 
through  the  quarter  of  the  Zlass,  we  climbed  the 
steep  little  hill  on  which  stands  the  Moslem  ceme¬ 
tery.  Enclosed  in  its  white  wall,  the  white  Kouba 
watches  over  the  white  graves  which  lie  thick 
around.  Above  it  hung  the  crescent  moon.  To  the 
west  ran  the  heights  of  the  Djebel  Trozza,  pale, 
grey,  and  shrouded  in  the  rising  mist  of  the  eve- 


An  African  Mecca 


265 

ning.  Between  us  and  them  lay  the  plain,  purple 
and  green — dark  in  the  distance  under  the  moun¬ 
tains,  but  fading  into  a  dull  green  under  the 
cemetery  hill. 

All  wras  quiet,  save  for  the  barking  of  a  dog  in 
the  city  and  the  low  droning  cry  of  the  muezzins 
calling  the  faithful  to  prayer.  Close  by  passed 
a  string  of  tired  camels  coming  out  of  the  desert 
to  rest  in  the  Fondouk  of  the  Zlass;  others  wan¬ 
dered  to  and  fro,  searching  for  “  camel  salad  ”  in 
the  rough  scrub  which  covered  the  ground.  A 
shepherd,  leading  his  flock  home  from  pasture, 
stopped  at  the  call  of  the  muezzin  to  bow  to  the 
earth  in  prayer.  Some  belated  Arabs  were  leav¬ 
ing  the  town  with  their  laden  asses  and  passed 
and  vanished  in  the  distance. 

Close  by  lay  Kairouan,  shut  up  within  its  walls. 
Above  them  rose  a  forest  of  white  domes  and  min¬ 
arets,  nearest  of  all  the  five  great  domes  of  the 
Djama  Amor  Abbada;  far  off,  across  the  flat 
white  roofs,  the  huge  mass  of  the  Tower  of  the 
Djama  Kebira;  all  glowing  in  dazzling  light,  their 
outlines  seeming  to  quiver  in  the  translucent  bath 
of  sunny  air. 

Then  a  cool  breeze  sprang  up;  the  shadows 
lengthened,  the  white  changed  to  pink,  the  pink  to 
crimson,  and  the  shadows  of  the  hills  began  to 
rise,  as  the  sun  sank  one  glorious  blood-red,  be¬ 
hind  them.  The  light  and  colour  faded  and  died 
out,  and  ever  clearer  and  clearer  grew  the  cold 
rays  of  the  crescent  moon,  showing  a  darkness  it 


266  Studies  in  North  Africa 

could  not  dispel;  and  the  domes  and  minarets 
stood  out  hard,  white,  and  dead  against  a  black 

sky. 

A  fitting  picture  of  the  long  tragedy  we  have 
been  following,  of  the  sea  of  blood  in  which  the 
sun  of  Roman  and  Christian  civilisation  set,  and 
of  the  chill,  dark  desolation  of  Islam  which  has 
settled  down  on  Africa. 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  CRESCENT  AND  THE  CROSS,  A.D.  1453-1830 

In  North.  Africa,  as  in  Europe,  the  sixteenth  cen¬ 
tury  was  a  time  of  profound  change.  Old  forces 
had  spent  themselves,  old  tires  had  burnt  them¬ 
selves  out.  North  of  the  Mediterranean  it  wit¬ 
nessed  the  Renaissance,  and  the  apogee  and  de¬ 
cline  of  the  great  kingdoms  of  Spain  and  Portu¬ 
gal  ;  in  Africa  it  saw  the  coming  of  the  Turks  and 
the  final  establishment  of  Xslamism. 

The  streams  of  Arab  invasion,  which  had  swept 
over  the  land  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Morocco, 
had  ceased  to  flow,  and  the  balance  between  the 
natives  and  the  invaders  had  reached  an  equilib¬ 
rium.  Roughly  speaking,  the  Berbers,  hardly 
touched  or  affected  by  the  Arab  deluge  which  had 
submerged  the  lowlands,  held  Morocco  and  the 
mountainous  districts  such  as  the  Aures  and  the 
Djurdjura.  The  Arabs  occupied  the  south,  in¬ 
cluding  Southern  Tunisia  and  the  Oases;  and  a 
mixed  population  of  Berberised  Arabs  or  Arab¬ 
ised  Berbers  held  the  valleys  and  the  plateaux. 

The  influence  of  Xslamism  is  rather  difficult  to 
estimate.  Nominally  it  was  universally  accepted. 
Practically  the  popular  form  was  what  we  might 
call  a  vague  form  of  nonconformity.  Certainly 
there  was  little  or  none  of  that  violent  antipathy 

267 


268  Studies  in  North  Africa 


to  Christianity  which  we  now  associate  with  Mo¬ 
hammedanism.  The  intercourse  with  Christian 
Europe  was,  on  the  whole,  friendly.  Treaties 
were  made  and  observed.  At  Tunis,  Cirta,  and 
elsewhere,  there  were  Christian  quarters.  At 
Tunis  there  was  a  Christian  church  until  a.d.  1530. 
Above  all,  neither  the  Arabs  nor  the  Berbers  were 
maritime  folk;  there  was  no  aggression,  and  the 
Mediterranean  was  a  Christian  lake. 

But  a  new  force  was  appearing  on  the  scene, 
which  was  to  bring  all  this  to  an  end. 

On  May  29th,  a.d.  1453,  Constantinople  fell 
before  the  conquering  sword  of  Mohammed  II., 
and  the  capital  of  the  Christian  Empire  of  the 
East  became  the  seat  of  the  Turkish  Sultan.  Un¬ 
like  the  Arabs,  the  Turks,  and  especially  the 
Greek  islanders,  whom  they  conquered  and  ab¬ 
sorbed,  were  seamen,  and  their  half  pirate  and 
wholly  savage  navies  soon  swept  the  Midland  Sea. 
Making  their  strongholds  in  the  islands  of  the 
AEgean,  especially  at  Mitylene  (Lesbos),  they 
spread  far  and  wide.  They  had  reached  North 
Africa,  and  occupied  Mehidia,  on  the  east  coast 
of  Tunis,  as  early  as  a.d.  1390;  and  the  English, 
under  John  de  Beaufort,  the  natural  son  of  the 
Duke  of  Lancaster,  had  tried  in  vain  to  dislodge 
them. 

In  a.d.  1492  Granada  fell,  and  with  it  the 
Moorish  kingdom  in  Spain.  The  Moors,  who  were 
driven  back  into  Africa  and  settled  largely  in  the 
seaport  cities,  were  also  experienced  seamen  and 
knew  the  coast  of  Spain  well.  Exasperated  by 


Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  269 

their  banishment,  they  not  only  sought  for  any 
opportunity  of  revenging  themselves  upon  Spain, 
but  extended  their  animosity  to  all  Christian 
powers,  and  so  there  was  imported  into  their 
warfare  that  spirit  of  bigoted  and  malignant 
hatred  which  had  hitherto  been  absent. 

Three  things  had  come  to  pass,  which  were  to 
bear  terrible  fruit  during  the  next  three  hundred 
years.  The  war  was  to  be  waged  on  the  sea,  and 
not  on  the  land;  Christian  Europe  was  to  be  for 
the  future  the  object  of  attack;  and  war  was  to 
be  merciless,  and  waged  with  savage  and  implac¬ 
able  hatred  against  Christians  as  Christians. 

The  year  of  the  fall  of  Granada  saw  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  Gonzales  Ximenes  di  Cisneros  as 
confessor  to  Isabella.  Three  years  later,  a.d.  1495, 
she  secured  his  appointment  as  Archbishop  of 
Toledo;  the  power  which  he  thus  obtained  was 
used  unsparingly  against  the  Moslems.  In  a.d. 
1499,  he  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  offer  the 
Moors,  who  still  formed  the  most  cultured  por¬ 
tion  of  the  population  of  Granada,  the  option  of 
baptism  or  banishment.  It  was  his  action,  espe¬ 
cially  after  his  appointment  (a.d.  1507)  as  Grand 
Inquisitor,  far  more  than  the  victory  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  which  ruined  the  south  of  Spain. 

Events  moved  rapidly.  In  a.d.  1504  Isabella 
died,  and  Ferdinand  resigned  in  favour  of  his  son- 
in-law,  Philip.  Two  years  later,  in  September 
a.d.  1506,  Philip  also  died  suddenly,  leaving  the 
throne  to  his  son  Charles,  a  boy  of  six  years  old. 
The  shock  of  her  husband’s  death  entirely  upset 


270  Studies  in  North  Africa 

the  always  feeble  intellect  of  his  wife,  the  nnhappy 
Jane,  and  Ferdinand  became  Regent.  In  a.d.  1505 
Ximenes,  who  had  conceived  the  idea  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian  and  Spanish  empire  in  North  Africa,  de¬ 
spatched  a  squadron  which  succeeded  in  captur¬ 
ing  the  port  of  Mers-el-Kebir,  five  miles  from 
Oran,  on  October  23rd,  and  Diego  Fernandez  de 
Cordova,  Marquis  de  Comares,  who  was  in  com¬ 
mand,  was  appointed  Governor.  In  a.d.  1509 
Ximenes,  now  become  Cardinal  and  Grand  Inquis¬ 
itor,  fitted  out  another  expedition,  which  he  com¬ 
manded  in  person.  On  May  17th  he  reached 
Mers-el-Kebir;  on  the  following  day  Oran  was 
taken  and  Ximenes  returned  to  Spain.  In  the 
same  year  Pedro  Navarro  seized  and  garrisoned 
Bougie.  Between  Oran  and  his  new  acquisition 
he  found  a  small  town,  walled  indeed,  but  with 
no  effective  fortifications,  and  no  considerable 
harbour.  The  town  he  left  untouched,  but  he 
seized  and  fortified  strongly  a  rocky  island  known 
as  the  Penon  or  Rock,  which  lay  off  it,  at  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  less  than  three  hundred  yards.  It  was 
from  this  island,  and  others  which  have  now  dis¬ 
appeared,  that  the  town  received  its  name  of  El- 
Djezair,  Algiers. 

Seven  years  later,  a.d.  1516,  Ferdinand  died, 
and  the  opportunity  seemed  to  the  Algerines  a 
favourable  one  for  trying  to  free  themselves  from 
the  “ thorn’ ’  wdiich  the  Spaniards  had  driven 
“into  their  heart.’ ’  Unable  to  effect  their  own 
deliverance,  they  called  to  their  aid  Salem  et 
Teumi,  the  Arab  Sheik  of  Blidah,  to  whom  they 


Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  271 

offered  the  sovereignty  of  the  town.  He  accepted 
the  proffered  dignity,  hut  entirely  failed  to  cap¬ 
ture  the  Pehon.  His  failure  brought  upon  the 
scene  two  men,  who,  like  the  Hautevilles  of  Nor-< 
mandy,  were  destined  to  change  the  whole  course 
of  North  African,  and,  in  a  measure,  European 
history. 

In  the  year  a.d.  1462,  when  Mohammed  II.  cap¬ 
tured  Mitylene,  he  left  behind  a  Bomanean  Sipahi 
called  Yacub,  who  seems  to  have  settled  down  as 
a  potter  and  adopted  Islamism.  He  had  four 
sons,  Elias,  Ishac,  Aroudj,  and  Khisr,  better 
known  as  Kheir-ed-Din.  Aroudj,  or,  as  he  is  com- 
monly  called,  Father  Aroudj  (Baba  Aroudj,  Bar- 
barossa),  and  Khisr,  perhaps  the  others  also,  for¬ 
sook  their  father’s  humble  trade  for  the  more 
profitable  business  of  piracy.  Aroudj  soon  ac¬ 
quired  fame  as  a  Beis,  but  unfortunately  was 
captured  by  the  Knights  of  Bhodes,  and  had  to 
pull  an  oar  in  their  galleys.  Finally  he  escaped 
and  landed  in  Ifrikya.  He  placed  his  services  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Hafside  Sultan  of  Tunis,  on 
the  understanding  that  the  port  was  to  be  open 
to  him  on  payment  of  one-fifth  of  whatever  booty 
he  might  secure.  He  soon  justified  the  arrange¬ 
ment  by  bringing  in  two  royal  galleys  of  Pope 
Julius  II.,  which  he  had  captured  off  Elba  with 
two  galleots.*  Soon  Tunis  was  too  strait  for  the 
great  Beis,  and  he  established  himself  in  a  port  of 
his  own  in  Djerba,  the  island  of  the  Lotus-eaters. 
There  he  was  joined  by  his  brother,  Kheir-ed-Din. 

*  Vide  p.  218. 

- 


272 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


In  a.d.  1512  lie  was  invited  to  assist  in  turning 
the  Spaniards  out  of  Bougie,  hut  the  attempts 
ended  in  total  failure.  He  was  repulsed,  with  the 
loss  of  an  arm,  and  Doria,  the  famous  Spanish 
Admiral,  pursued  him  to  Tunis,  took  and  sacked 
the  fortress  and  town,  and  destroyed  half  the  fleet. 
Aroudj  escaped  to  Djerba,  and  set  to  work  to 
build  another  fleet.  In  a.d.  1514  he  again  attacked 
Bougie,  and  was  again  beaten  off.  Frantic  with 
rage,  he  burnt  his  ships  to  save  them  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards. 

Something  had  to  be  done,  for  both  Tunis  and 
Djerba  were  now  too  hot  to  hold  him.  Happily 
the  people  of  Djidjelli  came  to  the  rescue,  and 
elected  him  as  their  Sultan.  This  was  the  turn¬ 
ing-point  of  his  career. 

Utterly  unable  to  capture  the  Pehon  from  the 
Spaniards,  Salim  invited  the  celebrated  condot- 
tiero  to  come  to  his  assistance.  Aroudj  advanced 
at  once  with  five  thousand  men  and  set  to  work 
in  true  corsair  fashion.  Salim  he  strangled  with 
his  own  hands;  his  wife  he  forced  to  commit  sui¬ 
cide;  the  rest  of  the  harem  he  slaughtered;  the 
town  he  delivered  up  to  be  sacked ;  thus  he  made 
himself  master  of  everything  except  the  Pehon, 
which  he  left  alone.  Such  enterprise  naturally 
endeared  him  to  the  heart  of  the  Berbers,  and 
with  their  assistance  he  pushed  farther  west  and 
seized  Tenes,  leaving  his  brother  Kheir-ed-Din  to 
hold  Algiers. 

Such  a  man  as  Aroudj  was  not  likely  to  remain 
idle  for  long.  At  Tenes  he  received  another  in- 


f 

,  i 

■‘i 

Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  273 

vitation  to  help  in  replacing  the  aged  King,  Abon 
Zian,  on  the  throne  of  Tlemcen.  This  call  he  also 
obeyed,  and  proceeded  to  carry  out  his  new  duties 
in  his  usual  way.  He  cut  the  throats  of  the  King, 
his  seven  sons,  and  some  thousands  of  the  inhab¬ 
itants,  and  made  himself  master  of  the  place. 

But  this  was  the  last  of  his  exploits.  The  Marquis 
of  Comares,  the  Spanish  Governor  of  Oran,  re¬ 
ceived  orders  to  deal  with  the  matter.  He  ad¬ 
vanced  against  Tlemcen,  drove  Aroudj  out,  pur¬ 
sued  him,  and,  after  a  desperate  resistance,  killed 
him  at  Rio  Salado.  This  was  in  the  year  a.d.  1518. 

Aroudj  was  forty-four  years  old. 

Kheir-ed-Din,  who  was  holding  Algiers,  in¬ 
herited  his  brother’s  sovereignty  and  name,  for 
he  is  always  known  as  Barbarossa.  He  was  not 
merely  a  buccaneer  like  Aroudj,  but  a  statesman, 
wise  in  counsel,  prudent  in  action,  as  well  as  furi¬ 
ous  in  attack.  His  first  step  was  a  masterpiece 
of  statesmanlike  diplomacy;  he  made  submission 
to  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  and  thus  passed  at  once 
from  the  position  of  a  mere  marauding  freebooter 
to  that  of  the  accredited  subject  and  officer  of  a 
great  empire.  The  Sultan  Selim  created  him 
Pacha,  sent  him  a  contingent  of  two  thousand 
men,  and  proclaimed  that  all  who  served  in  the 
war  in  North  Africa  should  enjoy  the  pay  and 
privileges  of  Janissaries.  Thus  reinforced,  Kheir- 
ed-Din  was  able  to  capture  the  Penon,  a.d. 

1529.  The  gallant  commander,  Don  Martin  de 
Vargas,  he  killed,  the  garrison  was  enslaved,  the 
fort  destroyed,  and  with  the  materials,  the  is- 

X  / 


274 


Studies  in  North  Africa 


land  was  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  mole. 
Thns  was  formed  the  harbour  of  Algiers,  which 
for  the  next  three  hundred  years  was  to  be  the 
scourge  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  dis¬ 
grace  of  Christendom — the  home  and  stronghold 
of  the  terrible  Barbary  corsairs.  The  really 
great  abilities  of  Kheir-ed-Din  marked  him  for 
promotion.  The  Sultan  S oilman  summoned  him 
to  Constantinople  and  made  him  Admiral*' -in- 
Chief  of  his  fleets,  with  the  title  of  Captain  Pacha. 
In  a.d.  1534  he  dethroned  Mulai  Hassan,  King  of 
Tunis,  but  was  eventually  driven  out  again  by  the 
Spaniards  under  Charles  V.  in  person.  At  last, 
in  a.d.  1547,  he  died  at  the  age  of  nearly  ninety 
years,  and  was  buried  at  Beshiktash. 

Meanwhile  the  appointment  of  Charles  Y.  as 
Emperor  had  diverted  his  attention  from  the 
south  to  the  north,  and  the  command  of  the  sea 
in  the  Mediterranean  was  rapidly  passing  out  of 
Christian  hands.  In  a.d.  1541  a  great  crusade  was 
launched  against  Algiers,  but,  aided  by  an  oppor¬ 
tune  storm,  Hassan  Agha  was  able  to  repulse  it, 
and  the  town  gained  the  character  of  being  im¬ 
pregnable.  In  a.d.  1554  the  Sultan  Salat  Reis 
drove  the  Spaniards  from  Bougie;  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  year  the  Knights  of  St.  John  were  forced  to 
evacuate  Tripoli.  Tunis,  taken  and  retaken,  was 
from  a.d.  1574  governed  by  a  Bey  appointed  by 
the  Sultan.  To  the  west  the  Turks  made  them- 

*  1 1  Admiral,  ’  ’  or  ‘ 1  Amiral,  ’  ’  is  derived  from  1 1  Emir.  ”  It  is 
strange  that,  of  the  three  chief  titles  in  the  navy,  no  one  is 
English.  1  1 Admiral ’ ’  is  Arabic,  “ Captain’ ;  Latin,  and  “Lieu¬ 
tenant”  French. 


Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  275 

selves  masters  of  Tlemcen  and  Mostaganem;  and 
the  Spaniards,  though  not  expelled,  were  closely 
blockaded  in  Oran.  Lastly,  the  Cherifs  of  Fez 
drove  the  Portuguese  from  the  coasts  of  Morocco. 

The  position  of  the  Turks  in  Africa  was  more 
akin  to  that  of  the  Carthaginians  than  to  that  of 
the  Romans;  it  was  not  a  conquest  and  occupa¬ 
tion  of  the  country  generally,  but  of  the  seaboard, 
and  of  the  country  only  so  far  as  was  necessary. 
The  natives  were  profoundly  influenced  and 
leavened  by  the  newcomers,  but  not  conquered  or 
seriously  interfered  with.  Even  in  Algiers  men 
are  spoken  of  as  natives,  or  Berbers,  or  Kabyles, 
or  Arabs,  but  not  as  Turks.  The  business  of  the 
Turks  was  on  the  sea,  not  on  the  land.  The  Pceni 
were  traders,  the  Turks  were  pirates ;  the 
business  was  different,  but  the  scene  was  the 
same. 

The  influence  of  the  Turks  upon  North  Africa, 
so  far  as  it  affected  the  country  at  large,  was 
wholly  bad.  Agriculture  was  ruined  by  the  gen¬ 
eral  anarchy  which  prevailed,  the  oppressive  taxes 
laid  upon  it,  the  irregularity  and  violence  with 
which  they  were  raised,  and  the  practical  prohib¬ 
ition  of  exportation;  even  the  Metidja,  one  of  the 
most  fertile  spots  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  was 
reduced  to  a  desert,  uncultivated  and  without  in¬ 
habitants.  No  effort  was  made  to  restore  order, 
rather  the  unrest  was  encouraged  and  welcomed, 
as  enabling  the  Turks  to  hold  sway  with  but  little 
trouble  and  an  incredibly  small  army. 

Their  domination  rested  upon  the  support  of 


276  Studies  in  North  Africa 

the  Maghzen*  warlike  tribes  whom  they  had  been 
unable  to  subdue,  and  so  had  attached  them  to 
themselves  by  exempting  them  from  taxation,  and 
entrusting  to  them  the  very  profitable  privilege 
of  collecting  tribute  from  the  other  tribes,  known 
as  Raias.  This  tribute  was  raised  when  conven¬ 
ient  and  possible,  and  at  the  point  of  the  sword, 
for  the  natives  were  in  a  state  of  continual  re¬ 
bellion.  But  it  had  to  pass  through  many  greedy 
hands  on  its  way  to  the  treasury  at  Algiers,  and 
but  little  of  it  reached  its  destination. 

For  administrative  purposes  the  country  was 
divided  into  three  Beyliks ;  one  of  el  Titteri,  south 
of  Algiers,  another  of  Constantine  to  the  east,  the 
third  of  Oran  to  the  west;  but  the  Beys  were  ap¬ 
pointed  by  the  Beys,  and  rose  and  fell  with  them, 
so  that  here  also  there  was  no  security  of  tenure, 
and  consequently  no  stability  or  continuity  of 
policy  or  rule. 

The  nucleus  and  backbone  of  the  standing  army, 
or  Oudjak,  were  the  Yoldash,  or  infantry.  These 
were  pure  Turks,  all  others  being  jealously  ex¬ 
cluded  ;  they  constituted  or  elected  the  Divan,  and 
were  the  real  masters  of  Algiers,  making  and  un¬ 
making  Deys  at  their  will;  the  only  check  upon 
their  power  was  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
Taitfe,  the  strong  Corporation  of  the  Reis  or  Cap¬ 
tains  of  the  Corsairs.  They  were  not  kept  con¬ 
tinually  with  the  colours,  but  after  a  year ’s  active 

*  1 1  Maghzen  ’  ’ — our  1 1  magazine  ’  ’ — meant  originally  a  military 
store.  ‘  ‘  Eaias  ’  ’  or  i  1  Rayahs,  ’ 1  means  1 1  tributary.  ’  ’ 


Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  277 

service  under  canvas  ( Mehalla ),  they  spent  a  year 
in  garrison  work  ( Nourba ),  followed  by  a  year’s 
leave  or  rest  ( Krezour ).  The  cavalry  consisted 
of  native  horsemen  (S 'pahis),  and  Coulouglis — the 
sons  of  Turks  by  native  women,  for  the  Turks  did 
not  bring  their  wives  with  them  to  Algiers.  In 
active  warfare  they  were  reinforced  by  the  tribes¬ 
men  of  the  Maghzen,  the  Z  bent  outs ,  a  picked  corps 
of  the  most  infamous  pirates  of  the  Mediterra¬ 
nean,  and  the  Zemala,  or  outlaws  from  other  coun¬ 
tries,  who  had  settled  and  been  given  land  in 
Algeria. 

Practically,  however,  Kheir-ed-Din’s  fame  rests 
upon  the  fact  that  he  was  the  founder  of  Algiers 
as  a  corsair  stronghold,  the  chosen  home  of  the 
worst  desperadoes  in  the  world.  Yet  at  first  the 
rulers  of  Algiers  were  not,  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  pirates.  They  fought  the  Holy  War  against 
infidels  but  they  did  it  as  subjects  of  Turkey; 
they  respected  Powers  which  were  at  peace  with 
their  suzerain,  and  the  government  was,  nominally 
at  least,  in  the  hands  of  a  Pacha  appointed  by  the 
Sultan.  But  it  was  a  far  cry  to  Constantinople; 
the  links  with  Turkey  rapidly  grew  weaker  and 
weaker,  and  the  real  power  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  soldiery,  who  revived  the  glories  of  the  old 
Praetorian  Guard  of  Rome,  making  and  unmaking 
rulers  at  their  pleasure,  removing  any  unpopular 
Pacha  by  assassination,  and  keeping  the  real 
power  in  the  hands  of  their  own  commander  or 
Agha.  At  first  he  was  given  only  the  title  of 


278  Studies  in  North  Africa 

Dey,  or  Protector,  but  soon  the  two  offices  were 
united,  and  he  became  in  name,  what  he  had  long 
been  in  fact,  the  Pacha/ 

Algiers  had  neither  trade  nor  commerce;  she 
had  no  business,  no  occupation,  no  adequate  source 
of  income,  save  piracy.  It  is  little  wonder  that 
piracy  was  soon  raised  to  the  level  of  an  exact 
science.  Soldiers,  sailors,  officials,  from  the  Dey 
downwards,  were  paid  out  of  its  profits.  No 
prizes  meant  no  pay;  and  so  the  success  of  the 
captain,  or  Reis,  was  much  more  important  than 
his  methods.  All  comers  were  welcome,  on  the 
sole  condition  that  they  adopted  the  faith  of 
Islam,  a  condition  which  was  adequately  fulfilled 
by  renouncing  every  other.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  great  majority  of  the  pirate  captains  were 
renegades;  in  a.d.  1581  this  was  true  of  twenty- 
two  out  of  thirty-six,  and  seven  years  later  of 
twenty-four  out  of  thirty-five.  Year  by  year  the 
power  of  Algiers  and  the  audacity  of  its  rovers 
increased.  They  refused  to  be  bound  by  any 
treaty  longer  than  suited  their  convenience.  They 
declined  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  more  than 
two  or  three  Christian  powers  at  a  time,  in  order 
that  they  might  plunder  the  rest.  They  enforced 
humiliating  terms  of  peace  and  restrictions  on 
commerce;  they  interfered  with  the  navigation 
laws ;  they  claimed  the  right  to  search  every  ves¬ 
sel  they  met,  and  to  fix  the  number  of  passengers 
that  each  might  carry.  All  captives  were  sold  in 

*  1547-1587,  Beylerbeys;  1587-1659,  Pachas,  appointed  tri-en- 
nially;  1659-1671,  Aghas;  1671-1830,  Deys. 


Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  279 

open  market  as  slaves,  the  representatives  of 
powerful  monarchs  were  sent  to  work  in  the 
mines,  or  were  blown  from  guns,  on  the  smallest 
provocation.  And  all  this,  so  amazing  to  ns,  was 
possible  simply  because  each  Christian  Power  in 
turn  found  it  more  convenient  to  use  an  infamous 
horde  of  savages  as  a  scourge  for  other  Powers, 
than  to  join  with  the  rest  to  destroy  it.  It  was 
not  until  well  on  in  the  nineteenth  century,  when 
the  Napoleonic  wars  were  over,  that  Europe  was 
sufficiently  united  to  close  this  open  sore.  It  was 
left  to  France  finally  to  heal  it.* 

The  vessels  employed  by  the  Barbary  corsairs 
were  essentially  rowing-boats.  Even  when  they 
carried  a  mast  and  lateen  sail,  these  were  used 
only  when  the  weather  was  favourable,  and  in 
search  of  prey.  Tacking  or  beating  up  against 
the  wind  were  little  understood,  and  were  not 
much  in  favour.  For  business,  the  corsairs 
trusted  entirely  to  the  oar.  The  craft  used  in  the 
Mediterranean  were  of  three  classes,  the  galley, 
the  galleot,  and  the  brigantine.  The  galley  car¬ 
ried  a  crew  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  offi¬ 
cers  and  soldiers,  and  about  two  hundred  and 
seventy  rowers;  these  were  all  Christian  slaves. 
There  was  a  deck  in  the  poop  for  the  officers,  the 
Beis  who  commanded  the  ship,  and  the  Agha  who 
commanded  the  soldiers,  neither  of  these  being 
subordinate  to  the  other.  In  the  prow  there  was 

*  For  many  of  the  following  details  I  am  indebted  to  “The 
Barhary  Corsairs,  by  Stanley  Lane  Poole,  in  “The  Story  of  the 
Nations’ ’  Series. 


280  Studies  in  North  Africa 


another  deck  for  the  soldiers.  The  waist,  where 
the  rowers  sat,  was  open.  Down  the  middle  ran 
a  bridge  or  gangway,  for  the  nse  of  the  sailors 
when  feeding  the  slaves,  and  of  the  boatswains 
when  plying  the  whip.  Each  oar  was  about  fifteen 
feet  long,  and  required  four  to  six  men  to  pull  it. 

The  galleot  was  similar  in  character,  but 
smaller.  It  carried  about  one  hundred  soldiers 
and  two  hundred  sailors,  two  or  three  to  each  oar. 
These  were  the  most  popular  vessels.  Smallest 
of  all  was  the  brigantine.  This  carried  no  soldiers 
and  no  crew  except  the  rowers,  who  were  therefore 
Moslems,  not  slaves.  Only  only  man  was  required 
for  each  oar. 

The  Algerines  prided  themselves  upon  the  sharp 
run  of  their  vessels,  and  this  meant  that  but  very 
little  room  could  be  allotted  to  the  rowers.  Five 
or  six  men  at  a  single  oar  had  to  live  and  work  in 
a  space  about  ten  feet  by  four;  this  was  their 
home,  night  and  day,  for  about  six  months  at  a 
stretch.  A  strong  man  would  pull  an  oar  for 
about  twenty  years. 

The  slaves  were  chained  to  the  benches,  on 
which  they  sat  when  not  at  work ;  for  rowing  they 
had  to  stand.  In  rowing  the  arms  were  stretched 
straight  out,  and  the  head  held  low,  to  escape  the 
backs  of  the  men  in  front,  and  the  oar  of  the  men 
behind.  When  at  full  reach  forward,  the  handle 
of  the  oar  was  raised  to  catch  the  water,  and  the 
rowers,  with  one  foot  on  the  stretcher  and  one  on 
the  bench  in  front,  so  as  to  get  their  full  weight 
on,  flung  themselves  back,  with  all  their  might, 


(Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  281 

upon  the  bench  behind  them.  In  the  case  of  a  stern 
chase,  proverbially  a  long  one,  this  tremendous, 
heart-breaking  work  had  to  be  kept  up  for  ten, 
twelve,  or  even  twenty  hours  without  intermission 
or  relaxation.  Sailors  walked  up  and  down  the 
gangway  and  put  bits  of  bread  dipped  in  wine 
into  the  rowers  ’  mouths,  but  it  was  considered  that 
the  slaves  worked  better  on  an  empty  stomach, 
and  the  boatswains  preferred  to  trust  to  the  whip. 
If  the  men  were  working  well,  they  were  scourged 
to  encourage  them;  if  a  man  flagged,  he  was 
scourged  harder ;  if  he  sank  down,  he  was 
scourged  until  he  got  up  and  set  to  work  again; 
if,  finally,  he  could  not  rise,  he  was  thrown  over¬ 
board.* 

When  a  Christian  vessel  was  captured,  the 
rowers  were  set  free,  and  the  crew,  soldiers, 
gentlemen  adventurers,  Knights  of  Rhodes  or 
Malta,  as  the  case  might  be,  were  chained  to  the 
benches  in  their  places,  and  the  ship,  in  charge 
of  a  prize  crew,  was  sent  straight  to  Algiers. 
There  she  was  at  once  boarded  by  the  port  officials, 
the  liberated  slaves  were  landed,  and  the  oars  were 
dropped  into  the  water  and  towed  ashore  to  pre¬ 
vent  all  fear  of  escape.  The  cargo  was  sold;  the 
Government  claimed  one-fifth  to  one-eighth  of  the 
value,  and  the  hulks.  The  rest  was  divided  be¬ 
tween  the  owners  and  the  crew,  who  received  no 
regular  pay.  The  captives  were  carefully  exam¬ 
ined  and  divided  into  two  categories,  those  who 

*  Verniers  Jours  de  la  Marine  d  Barries ,  Jarien  de  la  Gravidre. 
Cf.  Barlary  Corsairs,  p.  215. 


282  Studies  in  North  Africa 


should  be  sold  for  work,  and  those  who  were  to  be 
held  to  ransom.  They  were  at  once  put  up  for 
sale.  Of  the  price  offered  sixty  zequins  per  head 
was  given  to  the  captors.  The  rest  belonged  to  the 
Dey,  and  was  paid  into  the  Khrasne,  or  Treasury. 

It  is  said  that  slaves  were  treated  with  tolerable 
kindness.  With  regard  to  those  who  were  held 
for  ransom,  this  may  be  accepted  as  true ;  in  fact 
they  were  hardly  treated  as  slaves  at  all.  In  re¬ 
spect  to  the  others,  the  statement  requires  con¬ 
siderable  modification.  The  life  of  the  galley 
slaves  has  been  described.  All  that  can  be 
said,  at  the  best,  is  that  the  brutality  of  their 
treatment  was  not  gratuitous  or  inflicted  merely 
for  the  pleasure  of  giving  pain ;  and  the  same  was 
probably  true  of  other  slaves.  Their  owners 
wanted  to  get  all  the  work  they  could  out  of  them, 
and  were  absolutely  callous  as  to  the  means  that 
were  used.  The  lot  of  the  slave,  like  that  of  a 
mule  or  ox,  depended  upon  the  character  of  his 
taskmaster  and  of  the  work  to  which  he  was  put. 

As  no  Mohammedan  could  be  held  in  slavery  by 
a  brother  Moslem,  it  may  seem  strange  that  so 
few  purchased  their  freedom  by  apostasy.  But 
this  possibility  had  been  foreseen  and  was  care¬ 
fully  guarded  against  by  the  owners,  to  whom  the 
bodies  of  their  slaves  were  of  more  account  than 
their  souls.  If  any  slave  showed  symptoms  of 
approaching  conversion,  he  was  promptly  bastina¬ 
doed  into  a  better  frame  of  mind.  An  exception 
to  this  rule  was,  however,  sometimes  made  by  a 
Beis  in  favour  of  some  particularly  strong  or 


Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  283 

active  member  of  bis  crew.  The  renegades  who 
commanded  the  ships  had  not,  as  a  rule,  been 
slaves.  Christian  renegades  were  called  ulouj — 
savages  or  infidels,  Jews  were  known  as  selami — 
a  word  of  donbtfnl  origin  and  meaning. 

To  some,  however,  no  mercy  was  shown ;  these 
were  Moslems  who  had  been  converted  to  Chris¬ 
tianity,  slaves  who  had  tried  to  escape,  or  had 
struck  or  injured  a  Moslem.  Women  were  de¬ 
graded  to  the  Mohammedan  level. 

The  story  of  the  martyrdom  of  Geronimo  by  the 
Pachi  Ali,  a  Calabrian  renegade,  deserves  notice, 
partly  as  a  typical  instance  of  Algerian  methods, 
and  partly  because  of  its  dramatic  sequel. 

It  was  about  the  year  a.d.  1536  when,  amongst 
the  prisoners  brought  into  Oran  by  the  Spaniards, 
after  a  raid  on  some  troublesome  Arab  tribes,  was 
a  boy  of  about  four  years  old.  With  the  others  he 
was  put  up  for  sale  as  a  slave.  He  was  bought  by 
the  Vicar-General,  Juan  Caro,  brought  up  as  a 
Christian,  and  baptized  by  the  name  of  Geronimo. 
During  an  outbreak  of  plague  in  a.d.  1542,  Ge¬ 
ronimo  escaped,  returned  home,  and  for  some  years 
lived  as  a  Mohammedan.  In  May,  a.d.  1559,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  he  determined  to 
leave  his  home,  to  return  to  Oran,  and  once  more 
to  adopt  Christianity.  He  was  received  by  his  old 
master,  Juan  Caro,  married  to  an  Arab  girl,  who 
was  also  a  Christian,  and  enrolled  in  one  of  the 
squadrons  called  “Cuadrillas  de  Campo.” 

In  May,  1569,  he  was  sent  from  Oran  with  nine 
companions  to  surprise  a  village  or  Douar  on  the 


284  Studies  in  North  Africa 

seashore.  On  this  expedition  he  was  taken  pris¬ 
oner  by  a  conple  of  Tetnan  brigantines,  and  car¬ 
ried  to  Algiers,  to  be  once  more  sold  as  a  slave. 
When  a  body  of  slaves  was  brought  in,  the  Pacha 
had  a  right  to  choose  one  in  every  ten  for  himself, 
and  thus  Geronimo  passed  into  the  hands  of  Ali. 
Every  effort  was  made  to  induce  him  to  renounce 
Christianity  once  more,  and  return  to  Islam,  but  in 
vain.  The  Pacha  was  then  engaged  in  building  a 
fort  called  the  Bordj-Sett-Takelilt  (named  after¬ 
wards,  for  some  unknown  reason,  “Le  Porte  des 
Vingt-Quatre  Heures”),  to  protect  the  water-gate, 
Bab-el-Oued  of  Algiers.  On  September  18th,  a.d. 
1569,  he  sent  for  Geronimo  and  gave  him  the 
choice  of  either  at  once  renouncing  Christianity, 
or  being  buried  alive  in  one  of  the  great  cases  in 
which  blocks  of  concrete  were  being  made  for  the 
construction  of  the  fort.  It  was  then  half-past 
twelve  o’clock. 

But  the  faith  of  Geronimo  was  not  to  be  shaken. 
The  chains  were  then  struck  off  his  legs,  and  he 
was  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  thrown  into  the 
case  of  concrete.  A  Spanish  renegade  called 
Tamango,  who  had  become  a  Moslem  under  the 
name  of  Bjafar,  leapt  in  upon  him,  and  with  his 
heavy  mallet  hammered  him  down  into  the  con¬ 
crete.  The  block  was  then  built  up  into  the  north 
wall  of  the  fort,  but  its  position  was  noted  and 
remembered  by  “Michael  of  Navarre,”  a  Chris¬ 
tian  and  master  mason,  who  was  making  the  con¬ 
crete.  The  facts  were  collected  by  Don  Diego  de 
Haedo,  and  printed  in  his  topography  of  Algiers. 


Crescent  and  Cross,  A.D,  1453-1830  285 

In  a.d.  1853  the  French  found  it  necessary  to 
remove  the  fort.  At  half -past  twelve  on  December 
27th  of  that  year,  the  explosion  of  a  mine  split  one 
of  the  blocks  of  concrete  and  revealed  the  bones  of 
Geronimo,  which  had  lain  in  their  strange  tomb 
for  nearly  three  hundred  years.  The  block  con¬ 
taining  the  bones  has  been  placed  in  the  cathedral, 
but  as  the  relics  have  obstinately  refused  to  work 
a  miracle,  the  title  of  Geronimo  to  be  a  saint  has 
not  been  made  good.  “Ossa  venerabilis  servi  Dei 
Geronimo so  runs  the  epitaph. 

A  plaster  cast  taken  of  the  cavity  shows  the 
arms  of  Geronimo  still  bound,  but  in  the  awful 
struggles  of  suffocation  his  legs  had  broken  loose. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  changes  were  intro¬ 
duced  which,  though  at  first  they  seemed  only  to 
develop  the  trade  by  extending  the  field  of  its 
operations,  eventually  proved  its  ruin.  In  a.d. 
1601  a  Flemish  buccaneer  named  Simon  Danser 
put  his  services  at  the  disposal  of  the  Pacha,  and 
taught  the  Algerian  shipwrights  to  build  larger 
vessels.  These  were  the  galliase,  which  carried 
seven  hundred  men  and  three  hundred  rowers,  and 
was  rigged  with  three  masts,  and  the  galleon, 
which  was  larger  still,  and  was  decked  through¬ 
out.  It  was  clear  that  vessels  of  this  size  must 
trust  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  to  sails;  in  fact  the 
galleon  carried  no  rowers  at  all.  Moreover,  the 
Powers  began  to  adopt  what  may  be  called  stand¬ 
ing  navies ;  and  against  a  fleet,  or  even  a  consider¬ 
able  squadron,  the  dashing  tactics  of  the  corsairs 
were  of  little  avail.  The  Algerian  fleet  had  never 


286  Studies  in  North  Africa 


been  a  large  one,  or  accustomed  to  work  together. 
At  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  numbered 
only  thirty-five  or  thirty-six  galleys,  and  they  sel¬ 
dom  attacked  more  than  two  or  three  vessels  at 
a  time.  Moreover,  the  expulsion  of  the  last  Moors 
from  Spain,  in  a.d.  1610,  robbed  them  of  their 
last  sympathisers  and  allies  in  Europe. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  small  rowing  craft  which 
they  had  hitherto  employed  were  suitable  only 
for  short  dashes,  and  practically  confined  their 
operations  to  the  Mediterranean.  With  the  larger 
vessels,  fully  rigged,  decked,  and  with  a  high  free¬ 
board,  they  were  able  to  undertake  long  voyages 
and  face  the  storms  of  the  Atlantic.  In  a.d.  1627 
the  Reis  Mourad  penetrated  as  far  as  to  Iceland, 
and  brought  back  eight  hundred  prisoners.  In  a.d. 
1631  he  made  a  descent  on  Baltimore  in  Ireland, 
and  carried  off  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  pris¬ 
oners;  in  a.d.  1640  another  raid  was  made  near 
Penzance,  when  about  sixty  were  captured.  There 
were  at  this  time  twenty-five  thousand  Christian 
slaves  in  Algiers  alone,  of  whom,  as  is  shown  by 
a  petition  to  the  King,  dated  October  2nd,  a.d. 
1640,  three  thousand  were  English. 

Now  and  again  an  effort  was  made  to  put  an 
end  to  these  atrocities.  In  a.d.  1655,  Cromwell, 
who  knew  his  own  mind,  sent  Robert  Blake  with  a 
squadron  to  deal  with  the  matter.  Blake  visited 
Tunis  first,  and  after  vainly  endeavouring  to  get 
satisfaction  from  the  Bey,  sailed  to  Porto  Farina, 
the  winter  quarters  of  the  fleet.  There  he  found 
the  Tunisian  fleet,  hauled  close  to  the  shore,  and 


Crescent  and  Cross,  a.d.  1453-1830  287 

strongly  defended  by  tbe  gnns  of  the  forts,  by 
earthworks  thrown  np  for  the  purpose,  as  well 
as  by  an  army  of  several  thousand  horse  and  foot. 
He  marked  his  recognition  of  the  gravity  of  the 
occasion  by  having  divine  service  performed  with 
great  solemnity  on  board  every  vessel  of  his 
squadron.  Then  on  April  4th,  “very  early  we 
entered  with  the  fleet  into  the  harbour,  and  an¬ 
chored  before  their  castles,  the  Lord  being  pleased 
to  favour  us  with  a  gentle  gale  off  the  sea,  which 
cast  all  the  smoke  upon  them,  and  made  our  work 
the  more  easy;  for  after  some  hours’  dispute  we 
set  on  fire  all  their  ships,  which  were  nine  in 
number,  and  the  same  favourable  gale  still  contin¬ 
uing,  we  retreated  out  again  into  the  roads.” 

Surely  never  was  a  heroic  action  described  in 
more  modest  words. 

Blake  then  sailed  for  Algiers,  where  he  found 
things  much  simplified  by  his  victory.  His  de¬ 
mands  were  complied  with  without  hesitation,  and 
all  British  slaves  were  released  on  payment  of  a 
moderate  ransom. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  instance  of  vigorous  and 
successful  action.  On  August  12th,  a.d.  1670,  Sir 
Thomas  Allen  sighted  and  destroyed  six  of  the 
best  vessels  of  the  Algerian  fleet;  a  few  months 
later,  on  May  8th,  a.d.  1671,  his  second-in-com¬ 
mand,  Sir  Edward  Spragg,  drove  another  squad¬ 
ron  into  the  harbour  of  Bougie  and  burnt  it  there. 
But  such  cases  were  rare  and  spasmodic. 

At  last,  in  a.d.  1816,  a  more  serious  effort  was 
made  to  put  an  end  to  the  scandal.  Lord  Ex- 


288  Studies  in  North  Africa 


mouth  was  sent  to  Algiers  with  a  sufficient  fleet 
and  a  free  hand.  On  August  25,  the  battle  of 
Algiers  was  fought,  in  which  the  Algerian  fleet 
was  destroyed  and  the  fortifications  seriously 
damaged.  But,  from  the  sea,  the  town  was  im¬ 
pregnable,  no  troops  were  landed  to  attack  it  on 
its  vulnerable  side.  In  a  word,  no  sustained  effort 
was  made  to  capture  or  occupy  the  place;  and 
so  the  demonstration  ended  in  nothing;  and  it 
was  not  until  a.d.  1830  that  the  celebrated  4  4  Coup 
d’EventaiP*  which  the  Dey  Husein  dealt  the 
French  Consul,  Deval,  decided  France  to  take 
final  and  determined  action.  On  June  14,  an  army 
thirty-seven  thousand  strong  was  landed  at  Sidi 
Ferrouch  under  the  command  of  General  de  Bour- 
mont.  On  June  19  a  decisive  battle  was  fought 
at  Staoueli;  on  July  4  the  Fort  de  PEmpereur 
was  blown  up  by  its  defenders;  on  the  following 
day,  July  5,  Husein  capitulated,  the  French  en¬ 
tered  Algiers,  and  North  Africa  entered  on  a  new 
life  of  civilisation  and  recovery  as  a  French 
colony. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  LAIR  OF  THE  CORSAIRS 

Sir  Lambert  Playfair  used  to  say  that,  with  the 
exception  of  that  from  the  Creek  theatre  at  Taor¬ 
mina,  the  view  from  his  house  at  El  Biar  was  the 
most  beautiful  on  the  Mediterranean.  The  two 
are  so  different  that  it  is  not  easy  to  compare 
them.  There  are  no  precipices  at  Algiers  like 
those  which  drop  from  Taormina  to  Giardini,  no 
wooded  island,  no  background  of  rugged  moun¬ 
tain  heights — above  all,  no  Etna  with  its  eternal 
snows  and  fires.  In  truth,  Algiers  is  much  more 
like  Naples.  There  is  the  same  wide  sweep  of  bay, 
the  same  white  town  climbing  the  hill,  the  same 
general  effects  of  luxuriant  verdure.  But  even 
here  Algiers  suffers  by  the  comparison.  It  is  all 
on  a  smaller  scale;  we  miss  the  historic  Vesuvius; 
above  all,  we  miss  the  lovely  islands  of  Ischia  and 
Capri,  which  hang  like  golden  clouds  on  the  hori¬ 
zon  at  the  two  extremities  of  the  bay. 

It  is  better  to  take  Algiers  as  it  is,  for  it  is  very 
beautiful;  perhaps  more  so  now  that  the  town  has 
spread  far  and  wide,  and  the  snowy  French  villas 
peep  through  the  trees  of  Mustapha,  El  Biar,  and 
Bouzarea,  than  when  the  hills  were  bare,  and  the 
savage  stronghold  of  the  Turks  kept  the  Christian 
world  at  bay. 


289 


290  Studies  in  North  Africa 

The  town  lies  in  a  bay,  which  sweeps  round  from 
Pointe  Pescade  to  the  north-west  to  Cap  Matifou 
to  the  east.  As  we  come  in  from  the  sea  it  is  still 
possible  to  trace  the  outline  of  what  remains  of 
the  Turkish  town,  but  only  by  the  flat  roofs,  the 
glaring  whiteness,  and  the  apparent  absence  of 
streets.  The  old  walls  and  forts  and  gates  are 
gone,  especially  the  grim  fortifications  of  the  sea 
front.  Indeed,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  houses 
near  the  Mole,  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the  town 
has  been  swept  away  to  make  room  for  the  French 
Boulevards  and  open  Places. 

Of  the  Roman  Icosium,  never  a  place  of  much 
importance,  no  trace  now  remains.  It  is  said  that 
the  Rue  de  la  Marine  follows  the  line  of  the  old 
street,  and  that  the  Roman  pillars  which  now  line 
the  Djama  Kebira  belonged  to  it;  but  even  this  is 
doubtful. 

No  trustworthy  map  or  description  of  Turkish 
Algiers  exists,  and  we  are  left  to  reconstruct  it, 
as  best  we  may,  from  chance  notices  in  the  writ¬ 
ings  of  men  like  Cervantes,  Haedo,  and  Venture  de 
Paradis.  To  do  this — in  outline,  at  any  rate — is 
not  difficult. 

The  town  faced  due  east.  In  shape  it  was  an 
almost  perfect  triangle,  each  side  measuring  some 
half  a  mile  in  length.  Its  population  was  about 
fifty  thousand,  of  whom  not  more  than  one-tenth 
were  Turks.* 

The  apex  of  the  triangle,  at  the  top  of  the  steep 

*  This  is  the  estimate  of  Venture  de  Paradis,  and  is  confirmed 
by  Mr.  Shaler. 


The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  291 

✓ 

hill,  was  occupied  by  the  Kasbah.  If  from  this  we 
draw  two  lines,  one  south-east  along  the  Boule¬ 
vard  Gambetta  to  the  Square  de  la  Republique, 
and  the  other  through  the  Boulevard  Vallee  to  the 
Lycee,  we  have  the  outline  of  the  city  as  the 
French  found  it  a.d.  1830. 

On  its  two  land  sides  it  was  defended  by  a  wall, 
ten  feet  thick  and  thirty-five  to  forty  feet  high, 
strengthened  with  towers  at  irregular  intervals; 
outside  this  ran  a  deep  waterless  fosse.  There 
were  no  faubourgs,  but,  according  to  Venture  de 
Paradis,  there  were  no  fewer  than  ten  thousand 
villas,  each  surrounded  by  a  lofty  wall,  on  the 
neighbouring  hills. 

The  number  of  gates  is  given  differently  by 
various  writers.  Probably  there  were  five.* 

On  the  sea  front  there  were  two,  one  at  the  head 
of  the  Mole  of  Kheir-ed-Din,  the  other,  called  the 
Fishers  ’  Gate,  to  the  south,  near  the  present 
Sante. 

In  the  north  wall  there  was  only  one,  the  Bab 
el  Oued,  or  Water  Gate.  It  stood  where  the  pres¬ 
ent  street  of  that  name  passes  the  Lycee.  Outside 
this  gate  was  the  place  of  execution  for  Christians 
and  Jews.  Christians  were  either  beheaded  or 
strangled.  The  former  sentence  was  carried  out 
by  the  Turkish  soldiers;  the  latter  was  executed 
by  some  passing  Christian  or  Jew  who  was  im¬ 
pressed  for  the  service,  for  no  Mohammedan 
would  hang  or  strangle  a  man.  Women  condemned 

*  Mr.  Shaler  says  four.  The  doubt  is  about  the  Fishers  ’  Gate. 
Probably  this  was  only  a  postern. 


292  Studies  in  North  Africa 

to  death  were  drowned.  Jews  were  burnt.  In 
addition  to  this,  they  were  compelled  to  wear  a 
special  dress,  either  black  or  white ;  they  were  for¬ 
bidden  under  any  circumstances  to  resist  or  resent 
an  injury,  to  mount  a  horse,  or  to  carry  any 
weapon,  even  a  stick ;  they  had  to  pay  double  taxes, 
and  were  allowed  to  pass  through  the  gates  only 
on  Wednesday  and  Saturday.  After  dark  every 
one  was  obliged  to  carry  a  lighted  lantern,  except 
a  Jew,  who  had  to  carry  his  light  bare,  and  was 
punished  if  it  went  out.  They  were,  however,  al¬ 
lowed  to  buy  slaves  in  the  open  market,  a  privi¬ 
lege  which  was  refused  to  Christians.  Outside 
this  gate  were  the  Christian  and  Jewish  ceme¬ 
teries. 

The  Bab  el  Oued  was  protected  by  no  fewer  than 
four  forts.  Close  to  the  waterside  stood  the  Bordj 
el  Djedid,  or  New  Fort.  This,  however,  was  never 
finished,  or  at  any  rate,  never  armed.  On  the  site 
of  the  modern  esplanade  stood  the  Bordj  Setti 
Takelett,  or  Holy  Negress,  armed  with  thirty-four 
guns.  The  French  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Fort 
des  Yingt-quatre  Heures.  This  was  the  scene  of 
the  martyrdom  of  Geronimo.  Farther  off  between 
the  church  of  Notre  Dame  d’Afrique  and  the  sea, 
stood  the  Fort  des  Anglaise,  armed  with  twenty- 
two  guns.  On  Pointe  Pescade  stood  the  fourth, 
known  as  the  Castle  of  Barbarossa,  and  armed 
with  twenty-one  guns. 

By  the  Bab  el  Oued  entered  the  only  thorough¬ 
fare  of  the  town;  it  followed  roughly  the  line  of 
the  present  Rues  Bab  el  Oued  and  Bab  Azoun. 


The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  293 

It  was  called  the  Souk  el  Kebir,  or  Great  Market, 
from  the  stalls  with  which  it  was  lined.  Although 
it  was  the  largest  and  most  important  highway 
in  all  Algiers,  it  was  nowhere  more  than  ten  feet 
wide. 

This  road  left  the  town  by  the  Bab  Azonn,  or 
Gate  of  V/eeping,  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Place  de  la  Republique.  This  was  the 
place  of  execution  for  Turks  and  natives;  from 
each  side  projected  horrible  hooks  of  iron  on  which 
the  worst  offenders  were  impaled  and  left  to  die 
by  inches.*  This  gate  was  protected  by  the  Port 
Bab  Azoun,  and  another  which  stood  on  Gap  Mati- 
fou,  armed  with  twenty- two  guns.  Close  to  this 
gate  and  just  inside  the  wall,  stood  a  Kouba  of 
great  sanctity — the  tomb  of  Sidi  Bede  Weli,  the 
marabout  who  foretold,  and,  it  was  believed, 
caused  the  great  tempest  which  destroyed  the 
Spanish  fleet  in  a.d.  1541,  and  saved  Algiers  from 
Doria  and  the  Emperor  Charles  Y. 

This  mosque,  with  that  of  Sidi  Abd  el  Kader 
which  stood  hard  by  outside  the  wall,  and  that  of 
Sidi  Abd  er  Rahman,  were  places  of  sanctuary  for 
criminals. 

Higher  up  the  hill,  where  the  wall  joined  the 
Kasbah,  was  the  last  of  the  gates,  the  Bab  el 
Djedid,  or  New  Gate,  by  which  the  French  entered 
on  July  5, 1830. 

This  gate  was  originally  protected  by  two  forts, 
but  one  of  them,  the  Fort  de  PEtoile,  had  been 

*  In  1830  the  French  found  the  heads  and  bodies  of  many 
Europeans  impaled  on  this  gate. 


294  Studies  in  North  Africa 

blown  up  by  a  slave,  and  no  longer  existed  in  a.d  . 
1830.  The  other  was  the  most  important  of  all, 
and  was,  in  fact,  the  key  of  Algiers.  This  was  the 
Fort  de  FEmpereur,  begun  by  Charles  V.  in  a.d. 
1541,  and  completed  by  Hassan  Pacha  eight  years 
later.  It  was  armed  with  seventy-seven  guns,  and 
stood  a  little  to  the  south-west  of  the  Kasbah.  Its 
capture  by  the  French  rendered  the  town  unten¬ 
able  and  was  the  signal  for  its  surrender. 

The  impregnable  fortifications,  armed  with  two 
hundred  and  fourteen  guns,  which  protected  the 
isea  front,  have  been  entirely  destroyed,  or  lie 
buried,  like  the  houses  of  the  Baglione  at  Perugia, 
under  the  ramps  and  quays  of  the  great  Boulevard 
de  la  Republique,  which  now  stretches  from  the 
Square  de  la  Republique  to  the  Place  de  Gouv- 
ernement. 

About  midway  between  the  Bab  Azoun  and  the 
Bab  el  Oued,  the  shore  bends  forward  into  a  point, 
off  which,  at  a  distance  of  some  two  or  three  hun¬ 
dred  yards,  lies  the  Rock  of  Penon,  which  in  a.d. 
1509  Pedro  Navarro  fortified  for  the  Spaniards  to 
overawe  the  town.  It  is  now  the  only  remaining 
one  of  the  islands  which  gave  Algiers  its  name. 
Twenty  years  later  Kheir-ed-Din  took  it,  and  with 
the  materials  of  the  forts  which  he  destroyed, 
built  the  mole  which  connects  the  island  with  the 
shore.  To  the  north  the  rock  projects  only  a  little 
way  beyond  the  mole.  At  its  southern  extremity 
a  second  mole  was  constructed,  stretching  towards 
the  shore,  thus  forming  a  tiny  harbour,  capable 
of  sheltering  about  fifty  vessels.  It  is  hard  to  be- 


The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  295 

lieve  that  this  insignificant  little  nook  was  once 
the  lair  of  the  terrible  corsairs.  Now  it  is  only 
the  starting-point  of  the  Jetee  du  Nord  of  the 
great  French  harbour. 

Kheir-ed-Din  left  hut  little  of  the  Spanish  work 
standing.  A  couple  of  handsome  gateways,  with 
coats  of  arms  over  them,  and  probably  the  core  of 
the  massive  bastion  on  which,  in  a.d.  1544,  Hassan 
Pacha  built  the  lighthouse,  are  all  that  now  re¬ 
main  of  the  “Epine  plantee  au  cceur  des  Al- 
geriens.”  The  fine  Arab  Gate  of  the  Lions  is  of 
white  marble  and  richly  coloured.  It  belonged  to 
the  Bordj  Ras-el-Moul.  The  house  of  the  Reis  is 
now  occupied  by  the  admiral;  adjoining  it  is  a 
pretty  little  marble  fountain.  The  Turkish  forti¬ 
fications  of  the  Pefion  mounted  one  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  guns. 

The  centre  of  French  life  in  Algiers  is  the  Place 
du  Gouvernement.  Its  construction  involved  the 
removal  of  the  finest  of  the  sixty  mosques  in  Al¬ 
giers,  and  threatened  the  existence  of  another. 

The  destroyed  Mosque  es  Saida,  which  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Hotel  de  la  Regence,  re¬ 
placed,  according  to  tradition,  the  old  Christian 
church  of  Icosium.  It  is  said  that  the  seventy-two 
white  marble  columns  with  which  it  was  adorned 
came  either  from  the  church  or  from  the  town. 
That  the  pillars,  which  now  form  the  arcade  of  the 
Great  Mosque,  are  Roman  is  certain;  an  inscrip¬ 
tion  on  one  of  them  to  Lucius  Ccecilius,  son  of 
Argilis,  puts  this  beyond  doubt ;  but,  according  to 
Venture  de  Paradis,  they  were  brought  from 


296  Studies  in  North  Africa 

Genoa;  and  as  he  wrote  on  the  spot  soon  after 
the  mosque  was  erected,  this  is  probably  the  truth. 

The  I) jama  Djedid  was  also  doomed,  as  its  re¬ 
moval  was  necessary  to  the  completion  of  the 
Place.  Happily  it  was  saved  by  the  remonstrances 
of  Colonel  Lemercier,  and  the  symmetry  of  the 
great  Place  was  sacrificed  instead.  The  Mirhab 
of  the  Mosque  es  Saida  was  brought  to  it. 

Adjoining  the  Place,  on  the  west,  and  between 
it  and  the  mosque  which  now  forms  the  cathedral, 
was  another  group  of  buildings  which  well  deserved 
to  be  spared.  This  was  the  palace  of  the  Dey,  Dar 
es  Sultan,  known  as  the  Djenina  or  Garden.  It 
was  here  that  Selim  et  Teumi  was  strangled  in  his 
bath  by  Baba  Aroudj,  and  it  was  the  seat  of  gov¬ 
ernment  until  a.d.  1816,  when  the  last  Bey  but  one, 
Ali  Khodja,  fled  from  his  Janissaries  and  placed 
himself  and  his  treasures  under  the  protection  of 
the  Berber  soldiers  in  the  stronger  and  safer  quar¬ 
ters  of  the  Kasbah.  The  entrance  was  marked 
with  a  flagstaff  bearing  a  golden  apple.  In  front 
of  it  was  a  little  open  space — the  only  one  in  all 
Algiers — about  twenty-five  yards  square,  and 
adorned  with  a  marble  fountain.  One  pavilion 
has  been  spared;  it  was  known  as  the  “Dar  bent 
es  Sultan,’ ’  the  house  of  the  daughter  of  the  Dey. 
It  is  now  the  archbishop  ?s  palace.  If  the  rest  was 
as  beautiful  as  this  fragment,  the  loss  is  indeed 
great.  The  palace  occupied  the  whole  of  the  space 
now  surrounded  by  the  Rues  du  Divan,  Bruce, 
Djenina,  and  Bab  el  Oiied. 

Of  life  in  Algiers,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 


The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  297 

and  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries,  a 
curiously  and  unexpectedly  pleasant  picture  is 
drawn  by  those  who  knew  it.  The  Turkish  gar¬ 
rison  was  very  small,  numbering  less  than  two 
thousand  men,  and  the  fleet  which  flouted  the 
world  was  insignificant.  In  March,  1825,  it  con¬ 
sisted  of  only  fourteen  vessels,  of  all  ratings, 
carrying  350  guns.  There  were  three  frigates,  of 
62,  50,  and  40  guns  respectively;  two  corvettes, 
45  and  36  guns;  two  brigs,  18  and  16  guns,  five 
schooners,  24,  14,  and  14  guns,  and  two  unarmed ; 
one  polacca,  20  guns;  and  one  zebeque,  10  guns. 
The  captains  knew  little  or  nothing  of  navigation, 
and  were  obliged  to  carry  Christian  or  other 
slaves,  to  sail  their  ships  for  them.  In  the  town 
itself  the  life  and  property  of  the  Turks — that  is, 
of  those  who  took  part  in  political  life — were  very 
insecure,  but  great  wealth  accumulated  in  the 
hands  of  the  non-political  natives,  where  it  was 
perfectly  safe.  Nor  was  the  position  of  the  women 
so  hard  as  is  often  thought ;  the  property  of  heir¬ 
esses  was  secured  to  them  after  marriage,  and 
with  regard  to  their  seclusion,  “they  are,”  says 
Mr.  Shaler,  “less  slaves  to  their  husbands  than  to 
custom  and  long-received  notions  of  propriety.” 
After  the  abandonment  of  galleys  in  the  seven¬ 
teenth  century  and  of  private  cruising  in  1816,  the 
number  of  slaves  decreased  and  their  condition 
became  more  bearable.  Ransom  was  more  easy, 
and  they  were  often  able  to  make  money  for  them¬ 
selves— some  made  a  great  deal — and  purchase 
their  own  freedom.  Of  the  town  itself,  we  are 


/ 


298  Studies  in  North  Africa 

assured  that,  except  for  casual  emeutes  on  the 
occasion  of  the  murder  of  a  Dey — and  this  was 
usually  arranged  for  a  Monday  morning,  at  the 
close  of  a  Divan — •“  there  is  no  city  in  the  world 
where  there  is  a  more  vigilant  police,  or  where 
there  is  better  security  for  life  or  property/ 7 
Doubtless,  according  to  our  ideas,  the  streets  were 
filthy,  but  the  houses,  numbering  from  eight  to  ten 
thousand,  were  whitewashed  every  year,  and  the 
streets  were  provided  with  a  hundred  and  fifty 
public  fountains,  each  with  a  metal  cup  attached. 
The  rules  for  drawing  water  were  simple  and  pre¬ 
cise  ;  Turks  took  precedence  of  all  comers ;  Chris¬ 
tians  and  natives  filled  their  vessels  in  turn;  Jews 
had  to  wrait  until  the  place  was  absolutely  free. 

The  Arab  town,  when  once  you  find  your  way 
into  it  from  the  Due  Randon,  is  a  perpetual 
delight,  full  of  picturesque  corners,  with  lights 
and  shadows  which  enchant  the  eye  and  are 
the  despair  of  the  painter.  It  is  a  maze  of  winding 
and  intricate  streets,  without  the  slightest  effort 
at  directness  or  symmetry  of  arrangement;  so 
steep  that,  where  not  actually  stairs,  they  are  for 
the  most  part  divided  into  the  long  sloping  steps 
which  the  Italians  call  cordonata,  and  so  narrow 
as  to  be  often  impassable  for  anything  larger  than 
a  mule — no  wheeled  vehicle  was  ever  seen  in  Al¬ 
giers  before  the  French  came.  Often  they  are 
completely  arched  over ;  even  where  this  is  not  the 
case,  the  windowless  houses  project  forward,  step 
by  step,  on  wooden  struts  until  the  upper  storeys 
nearly  touch.  The  houses  are  either  covered  with 


The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  299 

the  eternal  whitewash,  or  are  painted  bine;  the 
doorways  are  frequently  beautifully  carved,  and, 
in  the  case  of  the  mosques,  zaouias,  hammans,  and 
other  buildings  of  a  more  or  less  sacred  char¬ 
acter,  they  are  richly,  or  gaudily  painted  with  the 
favourite  Moslem  colours,  red  and  green.  The 
doors  open  into  delightfully  tiled  entrance  halls 
or  skitfa.  Beyond  these  it  is  of  course  impossible 
to  penetrate  without  special  invitation.  In  gen¬ 
eral  arrangement  they  are  all  alike,  square,  built 
round  an  oust,*  or  a  little  court  like  a  Spanish 
patio.  They  have  flat  roofs,  and  no  windows,  or 
only  small,  heavily  barred  openings  high  up  in 
the  wall.  In  the  heat  of  summer,  a  curtain  is 
drawn  over  the  open  patio.  Several  of  the  finest 
houses  have  been  occupied  by  the  French  and  are 
open  to  inspection.  Chief  amongst  these  is  the 
governor’s  winter  palace,  Dar  Hassan  Pacha.  It 
is  gaudy  and  may  have  been  beautiful,  but  the 
extensive  alterations  and  additions  made  by  the 
French  have  robbed  it  of  much  of  its  charm  and 
interest.  Close  by  is  the  palace  of  the  archbishop 
already  mentioned. 

Most  perfect  and  beautiful  of  all  is  the  public 
library,  installed  in  the  private  house  of  Mus- 
tapha  Pacha,  who  built  it  in  a.d.  1779,  and  was 
murdered  in  a.d.  1805.  The  skitfa  is  covered  with 
Delft  tiles,  signed ‘ ‘  J.Y. M.”(J.  van Maak) ;  pass¬ 
ing  through  it  we  turn  to  the  left  into  the  oust,  or 
patio ;  it  is  a  square  court  surrounded  by  two 
storeys  of  horeshoe  arches,  decorated  with  tiles, 

*  The  waist  or  middle. 


300  Studies  in  North  Africa 

and  resting  on  slender  spiral  columns  of  marble. 
Between  the  columns  of  the  upper  storey  runs  a 
balustrade  of  carved  cedar  wood;  the  dwelling- 
rooms  are  sacrificed  to  the  books.  In  the  centre  of 
the  patio  is  a  graceful  marble  fountain,  its  basin 
filled  with  bamboos,  and  bananas  stand  in  the  four 
corners.  To  sit  there  in  the  shade,  reading,  on  a 
hot  day,  with  the  sun  blazing  down  upon  dazzling 
colours  of  wood,  marble,  and  tiles,  and  filling  the 
air  with  vibrating  light;  to  feel  the  coolness  of 
the  little  breeze  which  makes  the  bamboos  tremble 
and  the  water  drip  outside  the  basin,  is  as  near  the 
perfection  of  luxurious  ease  as  a  student  can  de¬ 
sire. 

Of  the  original  Kasbah  little  remains.  It  was 
begun  by  the  one  Barbarossa  and  finished  by  the 
other  to  take  the  place  of  the  ancient  Berber  fort¬ 
ress.  It  did  not  become  a  royal  residence  until 
a.d.  1816,  when  Ali  Khodja  took  sanctuary  there, 
and  stood  a  siege  by  his  own  troops.  Ultimately 
they  were  routed  and  massacred,  but  the  Dey  did 
not  dare  to  risk  a  return  to  the  lower  town,  so  he 
and  his  successor  remained  at  the  Kasbah  until 
finally  driven  out  by  the  French. 

A  broad  road  has  been  driven  through  the  fort¬ 
ress,  entirely  destroying  its  original  character ;  on 
passing  through  the  strong  walls  there  is  a  dis¬ 
used  mosque,  now  a  magazine,  on  one  side  of  the 
road  and  an  ancient  gateway  on  the  other.  The 
apartments  of  the  Dey  surround  a  court,  in  the 
middle  of  which  is  a  fountain;  amongst  them  a 
little  room,  hardly  more  than  a  recess,  is  shown 


.The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  301 

as  the  scene  of  the  “Blow  with  the  Fan9’;  the 
apartments  are  handsome,  but  do  not  require  spe¬ 
cial  notice.  Some  of  the  officers  are  quartered  in 
fine  old  houses,  but  these  are,  of  course,  private. 
Not  much  else  of  the  old  fort  has  been  left. 

The  mosques  are  not  remarkably  fine  or  in¬ 
teresting.  Three  of  them,  however,  deserve  notice 
as  being  good  specimens  of  the  three  different 
types  of  such  buildings  which  we  find  in  North 
Africa. 

The  Djama  Kebira,  or  Great  Mosque,  stands 
close  to  the  sea,  between  the  modern  Boulevard 
de  France  and  the  ancient  Bue  de  la  Marine,  at 
the  head  of  the  jetty  of  Kheir-ed-Din.  It  is  of  the 
ordinary  type  of  Arab  mosques,  built  for  the 
Malekite  rite,  and  dates  from  the  tenth  or  eleventh 
century.  A  fine  minaret  was  added  in  a.d.  1324 
by  Abou  Tachefin,  King  of  Tlemcen.  Its  ex¬ 
terior  was  quite  plain,  but  in  a.d.  1837  the  French 
adorned  the  side  toward  the  Bue  de  la  Marine  with 
a  handsome  arcade  of  horseshoe  arches  resting 
upon  the  pillars  brought  from  the  Djama-es-Saida. 

The  interior  is  divided  into  eleven  aisles  by 
heavy  whitewashed  arcades  of  horseshoe  arches 
resting  upon  square  piers.  This  arrangement, 
poor  and  clumsy,  reminds  us  that  the  great 
builders  of  North  Africa  and  Spain  were  not  the 
Arabs,  but  the  Moors  or  Berbers;  and  even  they 
very  seldom  carved  a  column  to  beautify  the 
houses  of  God.  If  they  could  not  take  them  from 
some  Boman  ruin  they  did  without  them.  * 

The  mirhab  and  the  cupboards  for  the  sacred 


302  Studies  in  North  Africa 

books  are  fine  and  the  mimbar  old  and  quaint :  an 
inscription  upon  it  gives  the  date  a.h.  409 — that  is 
a.d.  1018.  The  adjoining  arches  are  scalloped,  but 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  this  is  an  improve¬ 
ment. 

Surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  aisles  of  the 
mosque,  is  the  open  court,  green  and  shady  with 
trees,  and  beautified  with  a  lovely  fountain  for 
ablutions.  This,  as  usual,  consists  of  a  little  dome 
resting  on  slender  pillars  and  is  bright  with  tiles. 
Seen  from  the  gloomy  shadows  of  the  mosque,  the 
effect  of  this  light  and  shade,  green  leaf  of  trees 
and  shimmer  of  marble  and  burnished  tiles,  is 
singularly  beautiful,  and  we  leave  the  mosque  with 
a  pleasant  recollection  of  quiet  and  coolness  and 
of  that  peculiar  solemnity  which  the  low  roofs  and 
numberless  aisles  never  fail  to  give. 

High  up  the  hill,  where  its  almost  precipitous 
side  seems  to  offer  the  least  possible  foothold  for 
a  building,  stands,  or  rather  hangs  the  little  mosque 
and  zaouia  of  Sidi  Abd-er-Bahman  et  Tsalibi. 
The  marabout  round  whose  grave  the  buildings 
have  gathered  lived  in  the  first  half  of  the  four¬ 
teenth  century,  and  belonged  to  the  Tsaliba  tribe, 
which  dominated  the  Metidja  before  the  coming  of 
the  Turks.  In  spite  of  this,  the  fame  of  his  learn¬ 
ing  and  holiness  was  so  great  that  he  has  retained 
his  hold  on  the  affection  of  the  people,  Turks  and 
natives,  and  is  still  reverenced  as  the  patron  saint 
of  Algiers.  Whenever  a  corsair  left  the  harbour 
below,  he  saluted  first  the  Dar  es  Sultan  and  then 
this  mosque,  each  with  three  guns.  The  mosque 


The  Lair  of  the  Corsairs  303 

was  rebuilt  by  the  Turkish  invaders  in  a.d.  1696. 
It  is  an  exquisite  little  specimen  of  a  style  of 
mosque  of  which  the  largest  and  most  perfect  ex¬ 
ample  is  that  of  the  Djama  Sidi  Sahab  at 
Kairouan. 

The  new  mosque,  the  Djama  Djedid,  or,  as  it  is 
now  called,  from  the  fish  market  which  surrounds 
it,  the  “Mosquee  de  la  Pecherie,”  was  built  in  a.d. 
1660  by  the  Turkish  invaders  for  their  worship 
according  to  the  Hanefite  rite;  for  Turks,  Arabs 
and  Berbers  differ  almost  as  much  in  religion  as 
in  race. 

Its  position  is  remarkable  and  suggestive,  for  it 
stands  on  the  edge  of  the  new  Place  du  Gouverne- 
ment,  between  the  Djama  Kebira  of  the  Arabs 
on  one  side,  and  MarochettPs  theatrical  statue  of 
the  Due  d ’Orleans  on  the  other — the  last  three 
conquerors  of  Africa,  Arab,  Turkish  and  French. 
In  itself  it  is  a  plain,  spacious,  unpretentious 
building  enough,  which,  though  it  lacks  the  dignity 
of  the  mosques  of  Constantinople  or  Cairo  and 
especially  their  light  and  graceful  minarets,  be¬ 
longs  entirely  to  the  Eastern  rather  than  to  the 
Western  type  of  building. 

In  form  it  is  a  Latin  cross,  crowned  with  a  cen¬ 
tral  dome  surrounded  by  four  smaller  ones.  Its 
shape  has  given  rise  to  the  fable  that  its  architect 
was  a  Christian  slave,  who  was  crucified  for  thus 
daring  to  stamp  the  symbol  of  his  faith  on  a 
Mohammedan  mosque.  A  somewhat  similar  story 
attaches  to  certain  rose  windows  in  France  and 
elsewhere,  that  they  were  the  work  of  a  pupil 


304  Studies  in  North  Africa 

who  was  murdered  through  the  jealousy  of  his 
master. 

Except  for  the  vulgar  decoration  of  the  dome, 
the  interior  is  very  plain,  and  reminds  us  more 
of  a  church  than  of  a  mosque — a  lofty  nave,  choir, 
and  transepts,  with  a  plain  barrel  vault  carried 
by  semicircular  arches  resting  on  square  piers. 
Round  the  building,  just  above  the  arches,  runs  a 
little  wooden  triforium ;  from  the  vault  hang  hand¬ 
some  chandeliers,  and  in  each  of  the  aisles  is  a 
wooden  gallery.  The  mimbar,  instead  of  being  a 
flight  of  steps  with  standing-room  at  the  top, 
placed  against  the  wall  by  the  side  of  the  mirhab, 
stands  under  the  central  dome,  and  the  steps,  with 
a  door  at  the  bottom  and  a  canopied  landing  at  the 
top,  lead  to  the  large  wooden  platform  from  which 
the  service  is  conducted.  The  mosque  possesses 
one  great  treasure,  the  copy  of  the  Koran  pre¬ 
sented  to  the  Pacha  by  the  Sultan  of  Constanti¬ 
nople. 

Such  was  Algiers  in  time  past,  under  Turkish 
rule ;  and  such  is  it  now. 


END 


\ 


Date  Due 


1  > 


yVi  *'v 

lS  1  •  ' ' 


' 


i 


DT162.G7  1923 
Studies  in  North  Africa. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1  1012  00135  7195 


